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le-amewzing · 6 years

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AO3 filter meme

tagged by @gilrael - ty! this one looks so cool! :D

Rules: Go to your works page, expand all the filters, and answer the following questions!

1. What’s your first and second most common work ratings?

General Audiences (270) and Teen And Up Audiences (154)

2. What’s your most common archive warning? Least common? Do you consider yourself an adventurous writer?

Most common: No Archive Warnings Apply (432)

Least Common: Graphic Depictions of Violence (1)

I’m kind of an adventurous writer? Years ago, before I got a tumblr, I actually did HP Ship Weeks (and my lil’ sis posted links to them on her tumblr for me XD), and I was determined to cover the few genres on FFN I had yet to write. Off the top of my head, I don’t recall if I did all of the remaining (which I think you could count on 1 hand, *lol*), but I did write a Western and by gods I am still happy I wrote it. XD Regarding that least common warning, I honestly thought it was for one of my HariPo fics, and it wasn’t (yet, since I’m cross-posting edited works to AO3); it was for a Steincraft fic, “Halcyon.”

3. How many fics have you written in each relationship category? Is this more accidental, or do you have preferences?

F/M (206)

M/M (176)

Gen (47)

F/F (40)

Multi (4)

Other (3)

When I write a ship, it’s always been more about the characters and how they work together as personalities to me; gender plays second fiddle to that, and I try not to make it an issue in most of my LGBT+ fics. I do know that there are so many F/M fics because of my HariPo works, and that the majority of the M/M works are in my sports anime fandoms, though.

4. What are your top 4 fandoms by numbers? Are you still active in any of them, and do you tend to migrate a lot?

Harry Potter (309)

Haikyuu!! (89)

Kuroko no Basuke (20)

Free! (20)

Fic-wise, in terms of creating new stuff (not just cross-posting edited versions), I’m most active in Haikyuu!! I still have ideas I want to write for Free! and KnB, but I think I’d rather draw for those fandoms more right now. As for HariPo, I seriously need to get back into writing for it because I’ve actually been working on new ideas lately. :3

5. What are your top 4 character tags? Does this match how you feel about the characters, or are you puzzled?

Original Characters (29)

Remus Lupin (26)

Victoire Weasley (20)

Lily Luna Potter (18)

Wow! :O OCs top my list??? Huh. I mean, stopping to think about it, it makes sense, since I have OCs in HQ!! for when I write Ennoshita’s class as 3rd yrs or when I’ve written 3rd-yr Kunimi. And in HariPo it makes sense because of friends I’ve created for the next-gen kids, or OCs I’ve written who belong to my friends. As for Remus, Victoire, and Lilu--hell yeah! Because of my love of Wolfstar/Remmius and Jamus; Vicnev; and Lilted, Remlilu, and Roxlilu. :D

Bonus, the top 4 relationships I have tagged

Remus Lupin/James Potter (10)

Ennoshita Chikara/Tanaka Ryuunosuke (10)

Hanamaki Takahiro/Yahaba Shigeru (10)

Neville Longbottom/Victoire Weasley (10)

I knew I wrote a lot of Jamus, but wow. XD Ennotana, Hanayaha, and Vicnev don’t surprise, tho; plus I know I’ve even more Vicnev. :3c

6. What are your top 2 most used additional tags, and your bottom 2? What would happen if you combined all 4 of these into a fic?

Top Two: Angst (172), Free Verse (133)

Bottom Two: Pre-Relationship (23), Cameos (20)

It would be a fairly typical free-verse poem, altho I question the need for cameos from other charries in what usually is a short piece. Combining Angst with Pre-Relationship, tho, and I already have 7 fics.

7. How many WIPs do you have currently running on AO3? Any you don’t plan on finishing?

In terms of individual fics? I’m only working on cross-posting the edited version of 45 Ways to Make a Werewolf Fall for You right now. In terms of series? There are 10 “incomplete” ones, tho some are more like fic collections I’ll come back to from time to time--with the exception of BoaF (both series and fic itself), which I know will someday be complete.

8. Tag people!

Since this was p cool, I’mma tag... @karasunovolleygays @crollalanzaa @museicaliteacup @ebumimasaru @ezzydean @tanaenno if any of ya want!

#mewling stupid things #tag mew's it #thx gil #this was fun :D

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camelliacats · 3 years

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until the ride ends & even after that (parts 131-140/200)

Drabbles spanning the lives and love of Victoire Weasley and Neville Longbottom.

Chapters 131-140: [FFN] [AO3] | ← → | start from the beginning

Pairings/Characters: Victoire Weasley/Neville Longbottom, James Sirius Potter, Teddy Lupin/Lily Luna Potter, Pansy Parkinson/Blaise Zabini, & OCs

Rating: K+

Words: ~1,680 collectively

Additional info: romance, cross gen, family, angst, fluff, Maydayverse, Next Gen era, 3rd person POV

Summary: No matter what, they would be together. They were always going to be together. *200 short, non-linear drabbles for Victoire and Neville, on love, life, and looking behind them before they look down the road.* [Potter–Weasley family fluff, Longbottom family fluff, and Neville- and Victoire-appreciation.]

*131—Simple*

"Ah, Dad, could you help me with this sketch?" Jacqueline asked James.

He paused making a snack and looked at the assignment. "You've got to draw a mandrake?" He shot a Victoire a look in the living room. "What's Neville up to? We never had to do this sort of thing."

"Da-ad," Jacqueline insisted with a twelve-year-old's haughtiness. "C'mon! You design wands all the time. This should be easy for you."

James sighed. "Jac, I can't draw creatures or people. Why don't you go ask your godmother for help? And I'll tell Neville what I think about his assignment when he and your papa get back from being out with Creevey and Zabini… Teachers' night out, my foot…"

Jacqueline did as he suggested and went to the witch in the living room, joining her on the couch. "Victoire?" she asked, holding the homework up.

Victoire groaned. "I'm sorry, Jacqueline… I design clothes, but"—she groaned again, cheeks red—"I can't draw creatures or people either!"

*132—Clean*

It sort of…beckoned him. It had been doing so for a couple months, calling out to him and taunting him. And now he sat at home like a sad person, staring at his left hand.

What was he thinking? It was crazy. He was a fully grown man. She was barely a woman. He'd had a family. That had been enough for him. He liked being friends, not just family friends, with her, but…

Neville shook his head, heat creeping up his neck and into his face as his gaze drifted to the short 'n' sweet missive on his lap. It was a quick, friendly, informal invitation to join her and some of her friends at Florean's. They were having a little celebration for their graduation. But he didn't know what he'd do if he saw Victoire, which had to be guaranteed, as she'd sent the invite.

His hand scolded him. He was still a man with feelings and freedom, and he deserved the happiness she was offering him. So he left for Florean's, looking for a clean break from the past and a clean slate on which to write the future.

*133—String*

"What are you thinking about?" Lily asked, not taking her eyes off toddler Marshall.

Teddy had his cheek cupped in his palm as he watched his wife and son play by exchanging silly faces. Marshall's hair brightened from a gray grape color to a bright Parma violet. "…just," Teddy said, "about the lines that create a family tree. Our family tree."

Lily sent him a quick smile. "And? What intrigues the incredible Mr. Lupin?"

"I suppose the growing years. The ten between you and me. The thirteen between my parents." He ran a hand through his hair. "The twenty between Victoire and Neville, and the twenty-four between James and Justin. The twenty-three between Molly and Michael."

"Your point?" Lily picked Marshall up and walked over to Teddy. "Don't tell me now it bugs you."

He shook his head and reached out to hold his son in his arms. Marshall had his—Remus'—eyes. "No. I just wonder what will become of the next generation. And I'm thankful for all that has happened to ours."

*134—Universal*

Victoire stomped out of McGonagall's office, huffing. She was grateful for the Floo connection to home in the remaining months, but she was glad the school year was almost over, because she needed her fiancé to be around to scold and—ah, bollocks. In all her hormonal raging, she'd forgotten why she wanted to yell at him.

She decided to search for him, hoping not to run into any others along the way. But, as luck would have it, two of her old professors spotted her. And they just had to be Zabini and Parkinson–Zabini. "Weasley? What are you doing here?"

"She's about to marry Neville, remember?" Zabini reminded his wife as Victoire turned, feeling obliged to say hello.

"Yes, but she shouldn't be just walking around here like this," Parkinson–Zabini said.

"Hello, professors," Victoire said kindly. She expected a snide remark now that they were all adults.

But Parkinson–Zabini eyed her big belly, and color flooded her cheeks. "When are you due?" she snapped despite her obvious excitement.

*135—Silver*

The slow days could be the nicest ones. Those were the times when it was easiest to convince Madam Malkin to take the day off and to let Victoire run the shop. …all right, so the elder witch so far would only take half a day, but it was a start.

While Victoire enjoyed working in silence, she also liked the occasional visitor. Today was Lania Jordan, Lee and Marietta's only daughter, and an acquaintance of Victoire's through James. She appeared in her silver Sleekeazy robes with a bakery box under her arm.

"Hey, Victoire…" Lania cocked her head to one side, her reddish curls bobbing. "I could use a friend. A sister, really."

"Oh?" The Weasley put her work aside to take her break.

"Yeah. I mean, Curt's got Troy, but it's not the same, going to him over boy troubles." Lania opened the box to share. "And you know what it's like to fall for an older man."

"You had me at the treats, mate," the other witch laughed.

*136—Zone*

She'd noticed something a while back. Her mother seemed to have a favorite thing about her father. When Fleur thought no one was paying attention, she occasionally would run her hand through Bill's hair. She loved its length and softness, and that kind of thing was silly but made Victoire glad that Grandmam Weasley never had the chance to trim it all.

And, with Dominique, she had her own thing. No matter how awkwardly they'd have to position themselves, Dominique and Lysander could always hold hands. Even linking a couple of fingers counted. Victoire loved seeing her sister enjoy that closeness.

Even Louis, in his own way, had his favorite thing. The others thought him lazy or just that Hugo was the taller one, but Louis was always resting an arm or placing his head on Hugo's shoulder. Victoire thought it sweet.

Now she thought about her favorite part of Neville. He did have a somewhat long neck… The skin was so smooth there… Victoire kissed it, surprising him enough to put his book away in bed. Yes, she liked his soft, strong, ticklish neck best.

*137—Nose*

"All right, the trick is to tilt your head back enough to catch them but not enough to get water in your nose." Neville picked up his eight-year-old daughter.

"Sounds good, Papa!" Frédérique said, and she put an arm around his neck as they stared up at the sky.

"Neville Algernon Longbottom!" Victoire threw open the back door but didn't dare step out into the pouring rain. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Catching raindrops, of course!" Neville glanced over his shoulder, but his eyes were closed to keep out the water. "Didn't you ever do this, Vic?"

"Come join us, Mama!" Frédérique yelled.

"No, you two get in here right now before you freeze to death!" the witch demanded.

Frédérique slipped out of her father's arms and landed wetly on her feet in the amassing mud. "Make us!"

Only Neville knew better than to taunt his wand-wielding wife like that….

*138—Past*

Sometimes she awoke with a fright. She would sit up, clutching the covers to her chest, her fingertips clawing at her chest as if to reach right in to squeeze her heart to slow it.

She couldn't exactly describe her dream (no, nightmare). It was vague and already fading from her mind the longer she stayed awake, frightened by it. But she knew one thing about it—it was of a past not lived.

At least, not by her.

Victoire glanced beside her, catching sight of Neville's chest falling and rising slowly, easily. Even his eyes did not twitch beneath his eyelids, he slept so peacefully.

She breathed and reclined beside him. She reached out and held her fingers just above his eyelashes, tickled by their faint movement.

Victoire wondered why she'd dreamt of wartime. That was Neville's past, not hers. But she pondered now the linked dreams of married couples and that there might be credence to them.

*139—Supplement*

With them, everything would be complete. At least, that was what Victoire was telling them.

Lania felt skeptical. She was flattered, just as she was sure Justin was. But still… Lania and Dermot were married and had one son, Herschel, already, but they'd discussed it long ago: The godparents of their first child would be Mallory, his sister, and Curt, her brother. Their second child, should they have one, would have Mallory's husband, Carlos, as a godfather and probably no godmother, but… Lania shook her head.

She knew James and Maria were Frédérique's godparents, and she was flattered. But Lania still believed that siblings should be the first pick for godparents.

"Well, it's the belief of me, Dominique, and Louis that siblings are reserved as aunts and uncles. Close friends are godparents." Victoire said it all with a reassuring, soft smile.

(Lania just didn't figure that, later in life, her goddaughter would also be her daughter-in-law.)

*140—Rust*

It had been a while. The Christmas break had been too long ago, Victoire had had to work on Valentine's Day and thus had been unable to see him, and now the Easter holiday was almost over.

He was back from visiting his grandmother and now he hopped on one foot as he changed. "Grandmum won't mind if I don't see her again this holiday," he stated loudly.

Victoire zipped by their bedroom on the way to the loo to fix her makeup. Her dress still hung open at the back. "Great! I already told Maria that I'm not free tonight, and Dominique is planning her Transfiguration lessons, so I'm good, too."

"Perfect!"

Then someone knocked on the door. Neville answered it, saw Harry and Ron who claimed to have "been in the area," and slammed it shut. His patience was already rusting away—he would have tonight with his girlfriend and nothing would stop that!

Remarks for—

Ch131: I think this is the first time I've mentioned in this collection that James is a wandwright—a wandmaker. He's Ollivander's apprentice.

Ch132: A throwback to #5—Opening. :D I was kind of wondering how long Neville would put off the "Great Experiment" that is him and Vic. -w- Appropriately, the day I wrote this drabble, the song "It's Over" by Lee Hi came out; not only is it a great, unusual Kpop song, but it really fits this drabble! :O

Ch133: Their son makes an appearance! :') Cookies if you get the reference for his name. ;) Also, this was the drabble I wrote on the fic's anniversary, when I first started writing in my little notebook… Godric, so weird, to have worked on this to completion before posting any of it…

Ch135: Marielee~ -w- And mentions of Curt/Troy, yay! :'D (Some of you will recall them from my Jamestins…)

Ch136: A little similar to #101—Handle. And I hear you laughing, Morghen, because you have collarbones and I have necks.

Ch137: I gave him the middle name "Algernon," named for his relative, Uncle Algie. I think it works.

Ch139: -w- Influenced in part by #119—Cover. :3 The other OCs mentioned will be recognized by anyone who's read my 5th Jamestin, "All We Need Is Now," or subsequent ones.

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave an anon/unsigned review via the FFN link or comment via the AO3 link at the top of the post, especially if you enjoyed this!

~mew

And if you want to support until the ride ends, please swing by its FFN and AO3 versions and consider liking and reblogging these posts on my HariPo fic tumblr!

#hp #harry potter #vicnev #victoire weasley #neville longbottom #<2500 #romance #cross gen #family #angst #fluff #maydayverse #rated: PG #next gen era #3rd POV #vicnev: until the ride ends and even after that

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camelliacats · 3 years

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until the ride ends & even after that (parts 191-200/200)

Drabbles spanning the lives and love of Victoire Weasley and Neville Longbottom.

Chapters 191-200: [FFN] [AO3] | ← | start from the beginning

Pairings/Characters: Victoire Weasley/Neville Longbottom, Ernie Macmillan/Hannah Abbott, Bill Weasley, Hermione Granger–Weasley/Ron Weasley, Rita Skeeter, Louis Weasley, Dominique Weasley, Frank Longbottom/Alice Longbottom, Augusta Longbottom, Harry Potter, & OCs

Rating: K+

Words: ~1,560 collectively

Additional info: romance, cross gen, family, angst, fluff, Maydayverse, Next Gen era, 3rd person POV

*191—Never*

There were a lot of things Ernest Macmillan had told Hannah Abbott over the years.

For instance, he'd always liked her hair in pigtails. It was the truth. Hannah and pigtails—it was the epitome of innocence to him, and he'd enjoyed that growing up. Also, he'd told her that she was a better cook than florist, which was a bit of an involuntary insult, what with being Hufflepuffs and all. He'd also once told her that he liked her—seventh year, May third, long after the dead had been counted and the injured had been healed.

And she'd said she'd fallen for Neville.

It was a few years before Ernie told her anything else. He had to be the good friend on the sidelines who had to watch her marry and have her heart broken and turn bitter.

But when Neville decided to move on and love again, so did Hannah, miraculously. And there Ernie was, ready to tell her that he'd always loved her and always would. He'd just never tell her how thankful he was for Victoire coming along to complete Neville's life so that Ernie could show Hannah that he was meant to complete hers.

*192—Army*

"You're not going to believe who's here," Bill fumed to Ron and Hermione, who'd arrived a few minutes before the wedding.

"Who?" Hermione asked.

"Rita Skeeter."

Hermione's eyes widened before her glare turned more venomous than Bill's. "Say no more. I'll be right back. Hold this," she said to Ron, dropping her purse into her surprised husband's hands. She stomped off the property and did a perimeter search, and it didn't take long to spot the witch who gossiped more than Lavender Finnigan did. "Hello, Rita," Hermione said coolly, gripping the reporter's shoulder tightly before she could become a beetle.

"Why, Mrs. Granger–Weasley!" Rita faked a smile. "Care to comment about your niece's scandalous romance and wedding?"

Hermione smiled back. "Not unless you'd like me to come after you with an army of exterminators. Or would you just like to be sealed up in a glass jar again?"

*193—Shoot*

"Ah, Madge—lookit him. Over there!" a blond woman said to her raven-haired friend.

"Wha… Oh—! That's a piece of eye candy if I ever saw one," the second woman remarked. Victoire overheard her; they were so loud, it couldn't be helped.

"Think I should try going for it, Madge?" Blondie asked her friend. She tugged on her shirt to give just about anyone an eyeful. "I mean, he's got that scholarly vibe about him, and you know I've always been fond of academics." She said the last word with a wink.

Victoire growled—not quite in disgust. But she was tired of watching these two older Muggle women ogle Neville in the security mirror of her favorite department store. It was bad enough that they'd ruined the rare outing. Now one thought she could ignore Victoire and sink her claws into Victoire's man?!

The witch shot them each a venomous glare and ushered Neville out before he had a chance to learn that Victoire could get jealous.

*194—People*

It was just another evening spent lounging in bed, with both of them too tired to do anything. They were completely on their backs as they stared at the ceiling. Her head was on his pillow; his head was using her stomach as a pillow.

"Say, Nev…," Victoire intoned quietly. "I think this is enough, for me."

"What do you mean?"

She stroked his jawline softly and smiled when she sensed he closed his eyes. "All this. You, me, our home."

There was a pause, and he frowned and held her hand on his cheek. He turned his head and kissed her palm. "Are we not 'family' people? 'Marriage' people?"

Victoire craned her neck to see his beautiful brown eyes, and she knew her answer as she settled on them and her heart swelled. "I think it's fine just being 'in love' people, with no demands of us whatsoever."

He smiled, and she knew his heart fluttered, too. "All right, then."

*195—Cut*

Neville came inside from tending the garden and blew his fringe out of his face. When that didn't do much, he brushed it away—and cringed. He now had a streak of dirt going across his forehead because he hadn't taken off his gloves first. Neville groaned. "Hey, Vic?" he called.

She came into the kitchen to grab a drink but stopped when she saw him covered in dirt. "Oh, my…! Look at you! Neville, you're going to get dirt everywhere!"

"The troubles with loving a gardener," he said with a quick half-smile. "I was wondering: Could you trim my hair for me? It's getting in the way, but I've never trimmed it myself. Tended to have my grandmother do it, but I know she went to Scotland to visit friends before summer's end."

Victoire blinked. "You really want me…? You never asked before."

"Well, you've been living here for a little while now, so I felt comfortable…" He blushed. "So will you or won't you?"

She shrugged. "Sure. I always wanted to cut my or my siblings' hair, but Mum always said no. Might as well learn now, yeah?"

*196—Way*

She had never pictured herself the type to want this. But here they were, anyway.

At her left was Louis. Good Merlin, he had grown up to look so much like their father, albeit with different coloring. In late mid-age, his laugh had come to sound like his, too.

Beside her on the right was Dominique. Where their mother had been a queen, Dominique had been some kind of gentle lady-in-waiting with her quiet beauty. Still, raising a family and teaching proved that she had the Delacour backbone.

And then there was she. Victoire. In the middle of their stroll through the park near Louis and Hugo's home, talking about recent news. It was just like when they were young, with her in the middle talking with them. They laughed as some piece of information flew over her head, but she didn't mind it.

Regardless of love and life, the three of them had grown and yet remained the same. And Victoire loved that they had never lost their way.

*197—Tight*

"Hey, can you… Can you hold on a moment?"

"Sure, sure. Sorry, were my kisses a little slobbery?"

"Ha! Merlin, no. No, it's just…"

"Are you sure you're all right? Comfortable and all that?"

"Yes, yes, I am…"

"Then what, Vic, luv?"

"My chest—it's just a little tight. … What?"

"…me, too. I'm glad I'm not the only nervous one, heh."

"I don't think it has anything to do with being nervous, Neville."

"No?"

"No. It's our motivation for tonight. I think…we've never been so in love before now. … So, I'm all yours."

*198—Know*

"She's bloody gorgeous, isn't she?" Frank remarked as they watched over Neville.

"Frank!" Alice scolded. "Hannah's also very pretty."

Augusta snorted. "Yes, but the boy was never as happy with her as he is with Victoire." She crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I think this was meant to be."

The trio continued to watch Neville and Victoire fret over their daughters as the hours, days, weeks, months, and years passed. It seemed that Augusta's opinion was, indeed, fact.

"I knew he'd be all right without us, somehow," Frank said gently.

"He was raised well," Alice added, with an appreciative nod to her mother-in-law that made Augusta redden a bit in embarrassment.

"He's a Longbottom, of course," Augusta stated, as if blood had ever had anything to do with it.

*199—Final*

He'd asked Harry once, what it was like to go. "Dunno, really," Harry had said. Then the Boy-Who-Won had frowned. "It was…lonely. I had my parents, Sirius, and Remus with me, here," he'd said, pointing to his heart, "but it was still lonely."

Neville wondered now why Harry had said that. Part of it made sense to him.

Frédérique and Colin and their grown children were at one side of his bed, all crying.

Marguerite and Herschel and their grown children were at the foot of his bed, all crying.

Frankie and Jacqueline and their grown children were at his other side, all crying. Frankie was even half on the bed with him, holding on to Neville for dear life.

Neville understood Harry now. It was lonely, because you knew you'd be leaving others behind.

But death, he decided, was life's final gift, because he would see his beloved again.

*200—Fate*

Post-battle, Neville was determined to find Luna and to tell her his feelings. But he really needed a power nap, since adrenaline was no longer keeping him going.

Receding into the emptied Gryffindor common room, the lion stretched out on the couch, not caring that he was dirty and caked with blood in some places. The moment he shut his eyes, sleep took him.

For a while, it was a dreamless sleep. But then Neville saw a willowy girl with strawberry–blond waves in his mind's eye. She faced him with the prettiest blue eyes he'd ever seen.

"You better wait for me," she told him. And he got the feeling there was a wealth of love behind her words, so much so that he never confessed to Luna, and he held out even through a failed marriage for her…

He waited for her, and she came.

Remarks for—

Ch197: Well, this was the actual last drabble I wrote, because #198, #199, and #200 came earlier than this. But I think it a fitting end, because you can read into this scene as much as you want since I kind of avoided the topic *cough, of makin' babehs, cough* to keep my K-plus rating. But I like to think of this chapter as a reward for those who've stuck this collection out to the end.

Ch199: One more drabble to go… Thank you all so much, everyone. *VAWL/NAL forever*

Ch200: This was actually the 3rd or 4th drabble I'd written for this collection, because I knew how special I had to make the last chapter… A little nod to the movies, a little nod to canon, and a nod to how Fate doesn't need to be such a b*tch sometimes…

When it came to writing this collection, though, I toughened it out, determined to complete such a large and ongoing project, finishing it before posting any of it, which I'd never done before. And, in doing so, it gave me courage, because I learned that I could write something like this, not to mention that I actually learned a few things—good and bad—about myself in writing these two so much, especially when writing Victoire. I strongly urge anyone and everyone to write their favorite characters or ships like this, because you'll be surprised. I know I was.

Hope you loved them all, and love Vicnev even more.

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave an anon/unsigned review via the FFN link or comment via the AO3 link at the top of the post, especially if you enjoyed this!

~mew

2017 note (regarding ch200): P much everything I said 4/5 yrs ago still rings true today. Coming up with the prompts, figuring out the timeline of events and how they fit in with the Maydayverse (mostly Jamestin) fics I'd written until that point, reinventing all the ways I could write one of my most favorite OTPs… It rly was a journey, and it's something of which I'm still proud, and I have no doubts I will always be proud of until the ride ends & even after that.

And if you want to support until the ride ends, please swing by its FFN and AO3 versions and consider liking and reblogging these posts on my HariPo fic tumblr! Share your love for this fic! X3

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camelliacats · 3 years

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until the ride ends & even after that (parts 181-190/200)

Drabbles spanning the lives and love of Victoire Weasley and Neville Longbottom.

Chapters 181-190: [FFN] [AO3] | ← → | start from the beginning

Pairings/Characters: Victoire Weasley/Neville Longbottom, Bill Weasley/Fleur Delacour–Weasley, Fleur's parents, & OCs

Rating: K+

Words: ~1,510 collectively

Additional info: romance, cross gen, family, angst, fluff, Maydayverse, Next Gen era, 3rd person POV

*181—Strong*

Her heart was lodged in her throat. Sure, it'd been a few days, and he was all right now, but Victoire did not need another scare like that!

"You've got to let Marguerite do more of the work," she told Neville as he sat up in his bed at St. Mungo's. She fed him bits of soft bread since that was all his stomach could handle. "You say she's your apprentice and that she'll teach Herbology in the future—so give her more of the responsibility."

Neville frowned and grabbed her hand to hold, putting the bread aside. "Hey, I might be old, but I can still do my job."

"Nev, luv—dragon dung fertilizer is even more explosive than the regular kind. And you weren't careful. One of the greenhouses is gone!" Her voice broke. "And I almost became a widow."

All he said was, "I know I'm not getting any younger, but that doesn't make me weaker."

*182—Tile*

It was akin to building a house around him. Brick by brick, layer by layer, his feelings were piling up for her.

At first, because he liked her and cared for her as a person, he had decided to give it a shot, to go out with her. One time became two became three became five became eight—the numbers exploded from there.

But there was something about her. It was something that made him want to protect her, and that told him that it was okay to be protected by her. There would be no one-sided feelings in this relationship, this friendship, this partnership.

His feelings told him so as they piled up, tiles that made the most beautiful mosaics and never stopped adding up, even after the first time he told her those three lovely little words….

*183—Due*

Frédérique timidly poked her head into her father's office. "Um, Dad?"

Neville looked up from his notes. "Fréd? What's up?"

"I have a serious issue, Dad."

That tone of voice made him antsy. "What's wrong, Frédérique?"

She glanced behind her and then came in and closed the door. "What are Pince's punishments like?"

"Oh, no. You didn't—"

Frédérique nodded gravely. "My library book's overdue." Panic rose in her voice. "What do I do?"

"I don't know! Have Junior slip it into the library for you or something. But hide out here for now, luv—I've never seen what Pince does, and I'm not sure I'm ready to find out what!"

*184—With*

Marguerite sullenly tugged on her hair. It was so terribly straight.

She didn't exactly hate her hair. It was dark and shiny and fell a little past her shoulders. It was a bit longer than her sister's, too, and she did a better job of keeping after it, so it was a sort of source of pride for her.

Still, not even hair would change things.

Her mother got along better with her older sister, she felt. Frédérique was a bigger tomboy than Marguerite was, and yet she was prettier, smarter—better in every way. Marguerite sometimes wondered if their mother saw more of herself in Fréd, too, since they both were older sisters.

But, actually, hair could change things.

After her mother suggested wearing a ponytail to give Marguerite wavy hair like her, Marguerite felt a little bit more like a daughter of Victoire.

*185—Straight*

"Pass me the bib, will you?" Bill asked.

Fleur tossed it to him and continued to cook lunch for her and her husband as he fed their two-year-old daughter. "She eez a 'andful sometimes, no?" She said it with a very motherly smile.

Bill shrugged. "Eh, all babies are…but our little Victoire will be the best-behaved little girl around. Won't you, Victoire?" he cooed when he had his daughter's attention. She babbled in response.

Fleur rolled her eyes mildly. "Of course she will be. She eez a Delacour."

"Hey! She's a Weasley, too! … Ah, I see your point."

She chuckled. "But she 'as us for parents, Bill. We 'ave a plan all laid out for 'er. So long as she, ah, steecks to it, she will be fine. She will 'ave a life wiz few, 'ow do you say…bumps in ze road, as ze Muggles say."

*186—Listen*

He could talk for hours, she learned. About Herbology, of course, as well as other things, like his preference for Apparition over flying, why toads were better than cats, that he still went to Blackpool every summer holiday despite having "grown up," his support for Holyhead mainly based on fear of Ginny if he liked any other Quidditch team, his enjoyment of stolen nights with his old roommates because that had been like having brothers in his opinion, the fact that he couldn't sing because his grandmother couldn't—random things like that.

It was new to Victoire. She'd done all the talking her whole life, partially due to her being the eldest of her generation, excluding Teddy.

But she didn't begrudge Neville's chattiness. She rather liked it, because his face would light up and his eyes would soften and…

It was easy to listen to the person with whom she'd fallen in love.

*187—Talk*

She could listen for hours, he learned. It didn't matter what the topic was, where they were, what they'd been doing, what the time was—she would always listen. Oftentimes she would say something that would get him started off on a tangent of some kind, and then…she'd simply let him run free. She'd wait and listen patiently, lovingly, as he dithered on. He felt fairly certain that he could've talked about the sky being green (oh, actually, not a good idea, because he didn't exactly like talking about his sixth and seventh years with anyone at all), and she would've listened intently.

It was new to Neville. He'd done nearly all the listening his whole life, partially due to how he'd been raised by his grandmother and how he'd never made much of himself with the Golden Trio around.

But he didn't mind talking to Victoire. He rather liked it, because he felt so comfortable around her, and he felt he might one day be able to open up about the war to those gentle blue eyes…

It was easy to talk to the person with whom he'd fallen in love.

*188—Be*

"Aunt Victoire, Uncle Neville," teenaged Ulric asked as he came in from outside with a perturbed expression on his face, "what's love? Fréd and Margot and Junior have been teasing me and said I've no clue."

"Easy," Victoire replied. "Love is being sick outside and not vomiting in your loved one's garden."

"Ha!" Neville snorted. "Love is finding missing pins or needles with your bare feet and not getting upset."

"Love is kissing someone who smells like dragon dung half the time!"

"Oh, yeah? Love is putting up with someone's crazy family who can't decide if they like the idea of your two together or not!"

Ulric looked between the two of them and shrank back. He mumbled his thanks and returned outside, because he had a funny feeling his aunt and uncle had been looking for something stupid to fight about…and he'd accidentally given it to them.

*189—Set*

Jean-Claude was muttering under his breath again. Judging by the curses he was incurring, Apolline guessed he was thinking about their granddaughter again.

Apolline wasn't ashamed. She was proud of Victoire for following her heart. Based on what Dominique had shared with her, Apolline believed Victoire had made the right decision to be with this Neville fellow, even if others felt her to be a little young.

The way Apolline saw it, Victoire was carrying on the tradition. When Apolline's mother had met Apolline's father, her mother had never had eyes for anyone else and had no need for her Veela magic. Likewise, the same went for Apolline and Jean-Claude. It was just the same for Fleur and William. Now, it was Victoire and Neville. And every set was complete.

"It's the Weasley in her," Jean-Claude rebuked of Victoire.

"Non," Apolline said defiantly, knowing he'd come around after he had time to cool off, "it is the Delacour in her."

*190—Lie*

"Sorry I couldn't leave work sooner—there was a mess at the pub I had to help Mum with," Frankie said, sticking his head in. He fidgeted. "Uh, so how…?"

"I'm fine," Victoire said, nodding her thanks as Neville moved aside. "Do you want to see her?"

He blushed but nodded and approached her side. The new baby was asleep in her arms. "What's her name?"

"Meet your new sister, Marguerite Odette Longbottom," Neville said.

"Dad," Frankie scolded, though it wasn't awkward now as it had been before when Frédérique had been born, because he now was at least used to the thought of Victoire being a strange part of the family.

"Would you like to hold her?" Victoire asked, and she placed Marguerite in his arms before he could answer.

Frankie knew he'd be lying if he denied loving being the second person ever to have held his younger sisters.

Remarks for—

Ch183: Some father–daughter silliness. XD Fréd's deffo her daddy's girl, though; Neville was scared of most teachers when he was a kid, too…though you have to wonder if anyone would've outgrown being scared of Pince…

Ch185: HA. If only they knew about Vic's future.

Ch189: Monsieur Delacour gets a first name! XD I love Apolline—"Grandma Apple," to Vic, Dom, and Louis, jsyk.

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave an anon/unsigned review via the FFN link or comment via the AO3 link at the top of the post, especially if you enjoyed this!

~mew

2017 note (regarding ch183): *LOL* Looking at this 4/5 yrs later, it occurs to me that Neville's suggestion to have Junior return the book for her is basically sacrificing poor Dennis' son. XD

And if you want to support until the ride ends, please swing by its FFN and AO3 versions and consider liking and reblogging these posts on my HariPo fic tumblr!

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camelliacats · 3 years

Text

until the ride ends & even after that (parts 121-130/200)

Drabbles spanning the lives and love of Victoire Weasley and Neville Longbottom.

Chapters 121-130: [FFN] [AO3] | ← → | start from the beginning

Pairings/Characters: Victoire Weasley/Neville Longbottom, Hannah Abbott, Fleur Delacour–Weasley/Bill Weasley, & OCs, with a cameo from Justin Finch–Fletchley

Rating: K+

Words: ~1,440 collectively

Additional info: romance, cross gen, family, angst, fluff, Maydayverse, Next Gen era, 3rd person POV

*121—Left*

"I swear! Really! If you just let me teach it to you once, I'll never bother you about it again!"

Neville groaned. "But I don't want to learn such a thing…! I stood up to your aunt and uncles. I can stand up to you."

Victoire raised one eyebrow. "No, you can't."

His shoulders sagged in defeat.

She pulled him to his feet and positioned him beside her. "Now, you loosely cross your hands at the wrist—very important, as your hands will sort of flop around. Then…" She put her left foot forward, leaning on the ball of her foot. "Start with your left foot and switch off to the right, and alternate." She made the motion.

"You look as though you're riding a horse."

"See? You get it!" At least she spared him her belting out the chorus. But he hated that she'd learned this ridiculous dance from her Housemate, Alethea Chang, years ago….

*122—Right*

"All right. My turn."

Victoire looked up from her magazine, her interest snatched away. "Oh?"

"Yes." Neville put his hands on his hips. "You tortured me with a dance from your teenage years. I get to torture you with one from mine."

She chuckled but put her magazine aside and stood. "I'm all ears. Let's see if you can dance, Longbottom."

He nodded, as if to give himself courage. "Right-o. Well, you stick your right arm out first, palm down. Then same with your left. Palms up. Hands at opposite shoulders, then hips. Hand at same sides of your head and then…" He went through all the motions.

Victoire burst out laughing, making his face turn red with embarrassment. "S-Sorry…!" She gasped for air. "I just never thought I'd see you shake your hips like that…!"

She stopped laughing when he butchered the chorus, her poor ears!

*123—Free*

Her smile was anything but sweet, and she avoided looking at him. "You're being silly, being with her," Hannah said.

He clutched his mug of butterbeer.

"She's young and pretty, yes."

He turned the handle of the mug around and around.

"Isn't she smart, too? I heard she was smart."

He felt glued to the barstool.

"But, really, it all comes down to how young she is."

He could leave. He'd only come because, once upon a time, this had been his home.

"She's young and pretty and smart…and deluded. Don't encourage her. Let her go. She could fall in love with someone else tomorrow. Young witches do that."

Neville left, but not because he believed his ex-wife. He just didn't want to hear her lies about Victoire.

*124—Skip*

Neville paused in his babbling—something about "Mimbulus Mimbletonia"—and glanced at Victoire beside him. "Ah, Miss Weasley, you don't have to walk with me all the way to the greenhouses." He gave her a sincere half-smile. "It's all right. I can manage to carry all the fertilizer from Hagrid by myself."

"No, no, it's fine," Victoire said, switching the bag to balance it on her other hip. "I insist."

He nodded his thanks. "Few people are willing to get dirty for Herbology."

"Well, I'm not like other people, professor."

The dark-haired man chuckled. "No, you're not… Most people don't have a literal skip in their step."

"What? I do not."

"Oh?" His quirked eyebrow dared her to take notice.

She knew he was right. He just didn't know it was because of him.

*125—Trust*

He'd been frightened. She shouldn't have blamed him. She could be scary sometimes! And her sharp tone had made him drop the ring.

But Neville only had time to curse before she left. He meant to apologize for being late to meet her at the ice-cream parlor, but she'd dashed off upon seeing the ring. Neville now fretted that he'd done the wrong thing. Perhaps Victoire was completely against marriage and he just hadn't known?

No. He knew Victoire. He cared for her above everything and everyone else, himself included. He knew her better than he knew himself. And he knew she would say "yes," but he had to catch her first.

He found her at home, where she paced in front of the doorway between the kitchen and the living room. He smiled. She'd always been a runner, but he wasn't going to let her be one anymore. So he did things right this time and got down on one knee and asked, "Victoire Apolline Weasley, will you marry me?"

The trust in her eyes told him that, no, she wouldn't run ever again.

*126—Hooked*

"Miss Longbottom!"

Neville looked across to the Viaduct, catching Justin's voice. It looked as though Frédérique had run into the Muggle Studies professor by accident and was now getting scolded.

Frédérique was in her second year now and still learning her way around the school. In a few years, Marguerite would be starting, though Neville doubted she would get into much trouble.

Still, it would be nice to hear "Miss Longbottom" said twice as much…

Neville watched Frédérique move on with her friends and Justin go on his way. He decided to focus, too, and get back to his office, but his mind wandered to hear "Miss Longbottom" again, and he almost walked into a wall. But he couldn't help it. It had been a long time since he'd enjoyed fatherhood again, and hearing "Miss Longbottom" turned him into a doting dad every time.

*127—Not*

Victoire was not the type of woman to bat her eyelashes to get what she wanted.

Nor was she a crybaby.

She never lorded power over others.

And she could never give orders as if there were no tomorrow.

Then again, Victoire was also not a woman who would wait on a man hand and foot.

She would never dress as modestly as a Wizengamot witch.

Nor would she ever wear so little as some of the girls who'd been a few years below her at school.

However…

Victoire was the type of witch to wear her wand in her hair and dress in her boyfriend's shirt to make him putty in her hands—but both she and Neville liked that.

*128—Window*

His hands, not his eyes, made a window into his soul.

As he jabbed angrily at the dirt with his trowel, she knew that he was bothered. The gloves were off, and he could care less about how dirty his hands got. His nails were blackened by earth.

He patted the dirt into empty pots, loosely packing them. Then he cast a Cloud Charm and watered everything in the whole garden. He was being a little reckless, though, since they lived in a mainly Muggle neighborhood.

That finally occurred to him, it seemed, as he then cast a barrier to block the sight of magic to all Muggle eyes.

"It was just a thought," Victoire finally said.

He gripped the hilt of his wand, tense.

She walked away. "It's something to think about: The girls may not want to learn at Hogwarts but at Beauxbatons."

*129—Languish*

Fleur didn't know what her eldest was thinking. This had to be a mistake. Victoire was book-smart but not necessarily sensible.

"It would be a useful job," Victoire muttered at the dinner table. "I'd get to work with a lot of people, I'm sure. Who knows? Maybe Madam Malkin might send me places to get exotic materials." She looked so happy, talking about her dream job.

Bill scratched his head. "Uh-huh… What kind of N.E.W.T.s would you need to, er, become a seamstress?"

Victoire shrugged. "Dunno. Probably Charms or something, though I plan on getting as many as possible. I might be overqualified for the job, even, but I don't care, because I want to work with my hands."

Fleur sighed and said nothing. She hated the thought of her daughter's magic languishing for lack of use… Well, at least Victoire would have Teddy to look after and take care of her.

*130—Floor*

Her father's eyes hit the floor. She hated that. He was such a strong man with a strong gaze that should never hit the floor.

"Would you like to dance?"

He seemed grateful for the distraction, so they walked onto the dance floor and swayed and twirled amidst the other guests at James and Justin's wedding.

Victoire rested her head on Bill's shoulder. It was just as warm as twenty years ago when she was four and loved being carried to bed in his arms. "Just say what's on your mind, Dad," she mumbled.

"I just…"

"Yeah?"

"I feel as though I'll never get the chance to walk you down the aisle."

She hugged him tightly, wishing desperately to comfort him…but, at the same time, being just as unsure.

Remarks for—

Ch121: OPPA GANGNAM STYLE! *cred to Psy, of course* XDDDD I couldn't resist, because this hype technically would've happened during Vic's teens. Alethea Chang is my OC daughter for Cho, sired by a Muggle man who's at least half if not all Korean (to make up for my belief that Cho might be Korean and not Chinese…idek. ;P). Cho's husband and daughter took her surname, and Alethea was in Ravenclaw, a year below Victoire. ;D NOTE! You will definitely want to read the next drabble right after this… Also, Alethea originally appeared in my fics "James Likes Cougars!" and "The Life of a Begonia Petal." -w-

Ch122: For those of you too young to know…HEY, MACARENA! XD *cred to Los del Río, of course* It would've been popular when Neville was a teen, and it really is the perfect revenge to "Gangnam Style." XD The Macarena is just not something you forget, and I regret to say I even used to do it when I was little… o.o Also, we've now learned that Neville cannot sing to save his life. Victoire can, but doesn't often. Still. *ROFL*

Ch123: I don't mean to Hannah-bash, but she was very nasty towards the beginning of the Vicnev relationship, and understandably so. Will that always be the case? Not quite, which is why I think drabble #150 is one of my favorites. :') You'll see…

Ch124: I don't think I mentioned it before…but my Neville is half-canon, half-Matthew Lewis. ;P Dark hair and brown eyes. Not blond and brown, or dark and blue. *end random tidbit*

Ch125: This is actually a throwback to #14—Time. :')

Ch129: Don't you love it when things go over your parents' heads? ;P

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave an anon/unsigned review via the FFN link or comment via the AO3 link at the top of the post, especially if you enjoyed this!

~mew

And if you want to support until the ride ends, please swing by its FFN and AO3 versions and consider liking and reblogging these posts on my HariPo fic tumblr!

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camelliacats · 3 years

Text

until the ride ends & even after that (parts 171-180/200)

Drabbles spanning the lives and love of Victoire Weasley and Neville Longbottom.

Chapters 171-180: [FFN] [AO3] | ← → | start from the beginning

Pairings/Characters: Victoire Weasley/Neville Longbottom, Molly Weasley, Ginny Weasley–Potter, Bill Weasley/Fleur Delacour–Weasley, Justin Finch–Fletchley, Dennis Creevey, Blaise Zabini, & an OC

Rating: K+

Words: ~1,390 collectively

Additional info: romance, cross gen, family, angst, fluff, Maydayverse, Next Gen era, 3rd person POV

*171—Agree*

Molly didn't care that she and Arthur didn't see eye to eye this time. It was different. It was her family. Perhaps, after the war and…Fred's death…she hadn't been in full charge of her faculties.

But Molly was not going to accept Victoire with Neville.

Remus and Tonks had been one thing. Firstly, they were so right for each other. Secondly, they did not have two decades between them. Thirdly, they were not Molly's children or grandchildren!

So she couldn't and wouldn't accept them.

However…

Molly adored Teddy, and he wasn't family.

So it would be terrible not to love her beautiful, adorable, mischievous, talented, sometimes-a-little-bit-too-much-like-their-mother great-granddaughters, right?

*172—Marry*

The house was empty. The couple was busy; both parties were at work. But a book that had been left precariously on the edge of the coffee table in the living room by the girlfriend in her haste finally fell and opened as it hit the ground.

Out flew a newspaper clipping from The Daily Prophet. At the top, only the bottom half of the word "Announcements" could be seen. Printed below was this:

Neville Longbottom, son of Frank and Alice Longbottom of Halifax, West Yorkshire, and Victoire Weasley, eldest daughter of William and Fleur Weasley of Tinworth, Cornwall, are pleased to announce their engagement. They are to be married in a private ceremony at the bride's home on June 10.

(Yet hanging on the wall was the calendar for the year—2027—and, while that Thursday said "WEDDING," the following Wednesday and Thursday had been hastily circled and read, both of them, "Due date??")

*173—Date*

"Oh. My. Merlin. Really?"

He didn't like that glint in Ginny's eye. It reminded him too much of Fred and George when they used to be ready to execute one of their infamous pranks. "Ah, you know what?" Neville chuckled nervously. "Never mind. Forget I asked."

"But you did ask, Neville," Ginny said with a smirk. It was eerier since it was via Floo.

"It's no big deal—"

"Hold that thought!" she interrupted. The call ended abruptly.

Neville thought Ginny had finally let it go…but that was not the case. The next thing he knew, Ginny, as well as Hermione and Luna, stepped out of his fireplace and began chattering about how important it was for Neville to pick the right outfit for his first date, how it was about time already, how it had been far too long since Neville had dared to love again after his divorce….

*174—Crack*

She was thankful to Maria for letting her crash at her place. It wasn't as though Victoire really had any other place to go right now.

Thinking about that, with her knees pulled up to her chest as she fought back a fresh wave of tears, Victoire gritted her teeth. She couldn't believe she'd broken up with Neville. Rather, that he'd broken up with her. Or, really, what had happened? Her mind was so fuzzy right now, she couldn't even keep events straight.

The point was, they'd split. A week had passed already, and Victoire kept ruminating on it. She'd never felt like this before. She'd only ever liked Teddy and loved Neville, so she didn't have the experience to handle a broken heart.

Another week, and another, flew by, and still she didn't feel any better.

After one more, she realized how petty they'd been, and they rekindled their romance. As Maria put it, "Who the hell breaks up for saying 'I love you' too much?!"

*175—Love*

When he'd passed, he'd gone with his eyes closed. So it only made sense for him to open his eyes once he reached the other side…whatever that was.

It was sort of strange, because there were clouds that weren't clouds all around him. They were everywhere, too. But, there was one thing that stood out—strawberry–blond hair.

"Neville," Victoire said softly.

Tears came to his eyes. Neville rushed forward and picked her up off the ground in an enthusiastic embrace. He cried and laughed at the same time as he swung her around. "Oh, Victoire!"

She laughed and held on to him tightly, and that was all he needed. Her, his love.

Here.

With him, forevermore.

*176—Spring*

He loved it, spring. She knew this well, because it was the time when everything bloomed. She was just thankful that she'd never really had much by the way of allergies.

Victoire threw open all the windows to let in the fresh air. Sunlight poured in, as well.

When Neville got up, he was delightfully stunned. "Godric, what a beautiful day," he commented, sticking his head out their bedroom window.

She smiled. "I agree."

He drew her to him and wrapped an arm around her waist. He nuzzled her and took in a deep breath—of her, of spring.

"You're awfully cuddly this morning," she noted.

Neville sighed happily but said nothing. He figured he'd point it out to her later, that it wasn't just spring.

It was their first spring.

*177—Horizon*

Bill broke the quiet of breakfast at Shell Cottage. "I'm a little stunned, to be honest."

Fleur shrugged. "I 'ave given up being stunned. I am just glad she told us."

"Yeah, but… Neville. Longbottom." He winced, but it wasn't thanks to the bitter marmalade on his toast. "I've known that kid since forever."

"Bill, 'e eez not a child anymore."

"My point exactly! When did he become an adult?" A pause hung in the air, as if to add, "When did he become Victoire's ideal?"

Fleur sipped her tea. Then: "I theenk you are asking ze wrong question."

"Hmm?"

"When did Victoire grow up?"

They had no answer, but it was new to them, accepting that their little girl really wasn't so little anymore.

*178—Could*

"Things are different now, huh?" Justin said as he passed each bloke a firewhiskey. They stood outside behind the Three Broomsticks, though they weren't cold—they'd all cast Heating Charms. They weren't teachers for nothing.

"In what way?" Dennis asked before taking a swig.

"Us. Getting to this point," Justin continued, to which Blaise shrugged. "We're successful. Taken. We get along," he added, and Blaise and Neville chuckled, because they'd never made much of the old snake–lion rivalry.

"Things are bound to change in the future," Blaise remarked. "Think about what we could be doing. When we're retired, or something…"

"Like how someone's redheaded babies will be having redheaded babies of their own?" Justin suggested impishly, and he, Blaise, and Dennis grinned as Neville choked on his drink. Ah, yes, things really were different now….

*179—Jewels*

"Do you know what today is?" she asked when they were still in bed.

He rubbed the sand from his eyes and said gravely, "I could never forget."

Just like that, the tone was set for the day. They got up, dressed nicely, and made sure they had no other plans for the day. On their way out the door, Neville stopped and asked Victoire not to leave without him.

"I forgot something."

Victoire shrugged it off. He'd forgotten the flowers countless times, even before they dated.

When he reappeared, he held a bouquet of Victoire roses—the same ones he'd created for her two years ago. His smile was soft and gentle as he passed them to her. "I think… I'm allowed to celebrate a birthday, for once, instead of another war remembrance. Happy birthday, Vic."

She was speechless, and it made her tear up—he could not have done better even if he'd offered up all the gems in the world.

*180—Hair*

Neville sent her a note the following morning, asking if it counted. She left home for the day to see him.

"You're not seriously asking me this, right?" Victoire asked him as they strolled through his neighborhood. She had the missive crumpled into a wad in her hand.

His eyes went wide. "I…um…"

She narrowed her eyes at him.

Neville sighed. "I suppose I panicked."

"Neville, of course our first kiss counted. Why shouldn't it?"

"Well, there was Teddy before me—"

"And, when that happened, I was fourteen and hadn't yet thought of you in this way and Teddy was such a boy and I was sick at the time and my hair was a mess and—"

He kissed her again for good measure, to wipe out any last traces of Teddy, and of Hannah, on them….

Remarks for—

Ch172: So, yeah. A Wizarding wedding announcement, *lol*. And yes, Vicnev marries exactly six days before Fréd's born. :') And lookie! Hometowns…

Ch175: They would, of course, reunite in the afterlife.

Ch180: Set a day after #98—Minute. Oh, Neville…

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave an anon/unsigned review via the FFN link or comment via the AO3 link at the top of the post, especially if you enjoyed this!

~mew

2017 note (regarding ch172): *lol* I like writing these little announcements and Prophet articles, actually. It would kind of be fun to write more of them. :O

And if you want to support until the ride ends, please swing by its FFN and AO3 versions and consider liking and reblogging these posts on my HariPo fic tumblr!

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camelliacats · 3 years

Text

until the ride ends & even after that (parts 161-170/200)

Drabbles spanning the lives and love of Victoire Weasley and Neville Longbottom.

Chapters 161-170: [FFN] [AO3] | ← → | start from the beginning

Pairings/Characters: Victoire Weasley/Neville Longbottom, Teddy Lupin (mentions of Teddy/Lily Luna Potter), Gabrielle Delacour, Dominique Weasley, George Weasley/Angelina Johnson–Weasley, Roxanne Weasley, Fred Weasley II, Augusta Longbottom, Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley–Potter, Rose Weasley (mentions of Rose/Scorpius Malfoy), & OCs, with a cameo from Verity

Rating: K+

Words: ~1,590 collectively

Additional info: romance, cross gen, family, angst, fluff, Maydayverse, Next Gen era, 3rd person POV

*161—Passive*

He couldn't help it, not really. Every time he saw them, they were happy. It was nearly infuriating how perfect Victoire and Longbottom were together.

Teddy hung his head. He was jealous, wasn't he? That's what this was, right? He wasn't entirely sure since he'd never had the chance to feel like this before.

But he supposed that must be it, because he'd smile when he saw Vic smiling and then he'd glare when their former professor simply appeared by her side. And when Longbottom pecked her cheek? Ha!

…well, Teddy did nothing, to be honest. There wasn't anything he could do because Longbottom had something special with Victoire. Besides, the more Teddy thought about it, the more he realized he felt protective of Vic like a sibling…

…unlike with Lily, because he hated when she enjoyed the attention of anyone who wasn't him, and he'd have to do something about that.

*162—Item*

Gabrielle gently rocked her grand-niece in her arms as Victoire cleaned up the mess Frédérique had left in her highchair. Gabrielle watched the younger witch push a lock of hair behind her ear, and the aunt noticed something. "Victoire, I have never seen you wear much jewelry, yet you have always worn that pair of hibiscus earrings. Why is that?"

Victoire glanced at her. "Hmm? Oh, these? They're actually not the ones I had in girlhood. Those had gold backings and were more reddish than these lavender ones." An easy smile appeared on her face. "These ones, with a silver backing? They were the first gift Neville ever gave me, and it's the first jewelry he ever gave me, as well. I always wear them because—in a way—they're just as important as my ring is."

Gabrielle admired her niece. Victoire sounded wise beyond her years, though she'd always been mature for her age.

Still, while the romantic in her swooned, Gabrielle still wanted to gag on the mawkishness…!

*163—Top*

"That's stupid."

"Gee, thanks, sis. You're so helpful. … Don't roll your eyes at me!"

"Oh, come off it, Vic. Neville makes you happy."

"Yes, but doesn't it seem a little unfair? Or am I just too excitable? I feel as though he needs no effort at all to please me."

"Huh. Usually it's the bloke saying that."

"You know, if you have no sympathy for me—"

"I didn't say that."

"Then get to the point, Dom!"

"What I mean to say is that it doesn't mean you don't make him happy. You just work hard at it to ensure he stays happy, because you want to do that. Stop trying to top him."

"Thank you for your…lovely insight, sister dear."

*164—Bang*

George looked at the invite and passed it to his wife. "Please, Ange? Can we? Can we, please?"

Angelina rolled her eyes and skimmed the note. "I mean, I can't say that I'm surprised. But is your brother going? Do Bill and Fleur know Vic's getting married?"

He nodded. "Trust me—Bill would never miss the chance to walk her down the aisle. So we're going, right? We love Vic. We love Neville. Maybe not necessarily together, but we'll learn!"

She laughed. "Why are you so gung ho about this?"

"Because I could whip up something special for the occasion in my lab!" The twins, who'd been quiet but jubilant the whole time while the family sat in the living room, vigorously nodded.

"Fireworks, Dad?" Roxanne suggested.

George nodded.

"Maybe one bang will lead to another?" Freddie snickered before his mother smacked him alongside his head.

*165—Prose*

Augusta pulled a blanket over Neville's shoulders when she awoke in the middle of the night and passed by the living room.

She loved this sight and missed it. Yes, she'd been able to enjoy it when he was growing up, but… Augusta sighed and let her eyes drift to the hand that hovered over the blanket and saw how withered the skin was. It felt strange to think that, the last time he had been curled up on the couch like this, her hand had not been so wrinkled… She sighed again. It was a shame that her grandson had long ago left childhood behind.

Or had he? Augusta picked up one of his bits of scribbled parchment that had fallen on the floor. She opened it up and snorted softly, though not out of derision. She could recall another Longbottom ages ago, writing poorly written love poems…

"Lucky for Alice that I saw Frank's handiwork before she did," Augusta murmured. "But, dear, you are just like your father—if you must, tell your mystery woman in prose that you love her." She kissed Neville's forehead and tucked him in again before returning to her room.

*166—Major*

She had never felt so relieved to see his face in the green flames. "I didn't know if you'd be in your office," she said.

Neville furrowed his brow. "I have a break right now—where are you? Why aren't you at work?"

Victoire sighed. "Malkin told me to take my break now. She's furious with me. I was getting in her way with a customer, and she blew up at me." She couldn't help but sigh again. "I angered the customer, too. Neville, I've never seen Malkin so mad at me. I was just trying to show her what I could do. But I think she's going to fire me."

He gave her a small smile. "That's nothing, Vic. Malkin's always been a tad touchy. Besides, she adores you. Even after I took over for Sprout, I still had to prove to McGonagall that I was a competent teacher—and McGonagall's much worse, trust me." He paused. "Wait, where did you say you were?"

"Hurry, your uncle's coming!" Verity babbled from Victoire's right, and the Floo connection ended promptly before George could learn why Victoire had come up the street.

*167—Strap*

"Hey, look at what I found." Victoire held up an old leather casing. "Is this what I think it is?"

"No, it couldn't be…" Neville put the Prophet aside and got up from the couch. He took it from Victoire, and his face lit up. "My Godric, it is! Ha ha! Where was it?"

"In a big box in a closet you forgot about," the witch replied. "Across the box's top was an 'X' made from Spellotape. Why?"

He held the item against his right forearm. "Wow, my old wand sheath… Well, I put all that stuff behind me when I quit being an Auror."

"Quit?"

"I, ah, mean when I retired. Say, one of the straps is gone and another's missing. Would you mind repairing it for me since I can't? Dragon-hide and all, y'know."

Victoire took it back and said nothing. She didn't like his expression that made her feel as though a repaired wand sheath would send him back to the Auror Office.

*168—Funny*

"So, now that everyone's here," Harry announced, "it's safe to say that…"

"Callie had twins!" Ginny burst from beside him. Behind them, Pansy elbowed Blaise in the stomach for looking too happy.

Rose plopped down in the chair beside Victoire as everyone clapped or cheered and began to line up to see babies Xavier and Yadira. "Glad I'm not Calytrix," Rose mentioned to her cousin as Scorpius hovered near his wife.

Victoire nodded. "I think I can only handle one kid at a time."

"I know what you mean." Rose was rocking little Ianthe in her arms; Ianthe, like Marguerite, had been born earlier this year.

As Scorpius disappeared to go congratulate his best mate, Neville appeared at Victoire's side. "Twins! Can't imagine," he said with a chuckle in his voice.

"You mean you're glad twins run in the Potter line now," Victoire teased him.

*169—Soul*

It was strange to be back at work already. Neville had checked on Marguerite several times today, but she was coping well. That made sense. She and Frédérique hadn't known their grandmother that well.

The more he thought about it, the more he wondered how well he'd known his mother. She was gone now, and all he had left of her were the gum wrappers and candy wrappers from the years long past.

He thought about all the visits to his parents with his grandmother and how she used to tell him to throw away the wrappers. But he was glad he hadn't. His mother had continued to give him the wrappers—and, on occasion, the rare smile—right up until her death. Yes, she had persisted and never failed to give him something. She had held on to see his life, to see enough of it, to see him have three wonderful children—

Ah. His mother wasn't gone, not really, because she'd been imparting bits of herself in her wrappers and smiles all these years, hadn't she?

*170—Ring*

"Will that be all, sir?"

He jumped at being called "sir" when not at Hogwarts. "Oh, uhm, yes."

"Would you like it giftwrapped, sir?"

"Sure." Neville couldn't believe he was buying a ring for Victoire. A ring! Him! Victoire! It seemed like something out of a dream.

"And a bow, sir?"

"Um…sure, fine. But I'd like to go soon." Still, the wait gave him a moment to think. Was he rushing things? He'd only ever fancied Luna and loved Hannah and Victoire, but Victoire…well, he'd never really had the chance to date a girl before Victoire because things had gone too fast with Hannah—

"Potpourri, sir?"

"Oh, for the love of—it's an engagement ring, for crying out loud!"

Remarks for—

Ch162: I always draw Vic with hibiscus earrings, dunno why… So I made that part of my headcanon. xD

Ch164: XD Ah, Freddie… Little do they know, but Vic's already expecting at this point. ;P Also, I didn't include it here, but there's a kind of underlying hope for George because Vic's the third of the Weasley–Potter clan to marry; he didn't get the chance to do anything for James or for Molly, so George really wants to do something for Vic, see. *doting uncle!George* -w-

Ch167: Ah, yes, Neville the Auror… Not something Victoire would like to live with, him being in danger and all. Oh, and Neville's a leftie—did you know that?

Ch168: XD Somehow, I can't picture Neville with twins… Refresher, btw: Pansy/Blaise gives us Calytrix Octavia Zabini. Al/Calytrix gives us Xavier Procyon Potter and Yadira Fortuna Potter. (And Scorrose gives us Ianthe Polaris Malfoy.) Whoo, boy. I loved picking out their names.

Ch170: A reference to the AWESOME movie, Love, Actually.

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave an anon/unsigned review via the FFN link or comment via the AO3 link at the top of the post, especially if you enjoyed this!

~mew

2017 note (regarding ch164): 2017 note: I like the lighthearted atmosphere here, bc too many times have I written George without that (or with a dimmed) spark post-war. :')

(regarding ch167): I just. If I could outfit the entire Auror Squad, I would. In fact, I rly ought just to draw their gear. XD

And if you want to support until the ride ends, please swing by its FFN and AO3 versions and consider liking and reblogging these posts on my HariPo fic tumblr!

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camelliacats · 3 years

Text

until the ride ends & even after that (parts 151-160/200)

Drabbles spanning the lives and love of Victoire Weasley and Neville Longbottom.

Chapters 151-160: [FFN] [AO3] | ← → | start from the beginning

Pairings/Characters: Victoire Weasley/Neville Longbottom, Dennis Creevey, Fleur Delacour–Weasley, Dean Thomas, & OCs, with mentions of others

Rating: K+

Words: ~1,680 collectively

Additional info: romance, cross gen, family, angst, fluff, Maydayverse, Next Gen era, 3rd person POV

*151—Composed*

Marguerite held on to her father's arm the whole time. She wasn't tall enough to peer into the casket, but she wasn't sure she even wanted to do so. If she did, then she might not stay calm like her dad.

It struck her, how bad her family was with timing. Even at eleven, she knew how life worked. Her parents weren't close in age. Grandpa Bill and Grandma Fleur had a love born from wartime. Great-Grandma Augusta had passed a year before Grandpa Frank, who had passed a year before Frédérique's birth. And now here they were, three months into Marguerite's first year and at Grandma Alice's funeral.

Marguerite cocked her head to one side, thinking. What would it be like when she was older and her parents left, too? And Frédérique, and Frankie? She shuddered and focused on staying calm and quiet as the small service wrapped up.

Then she realized her father's arm trembled. She looked up at him, and she clutched his arm more tightly. Maybe it was all right not to be so calm.

*152—Kids*

"Crowd together for a picture—oh, for Godric's sake!" Dennis threw his hands up in the air, and Maria and Victoire tried not to laugh. He motioned for all of the kids to cram in a certain way, but the older ones—Jacqueline, Sara, Frédérique, Ulric, and Marguerite—were of little help. On one end, the older ones crowded together. There was no other end, however; the young ones had spread out in a mess that was currently frustrating the photographer out of Dennis.

"Remember when we were little chits?" Maria asked her best mate with a snicker.

Victoire rolled her eyes. "Hey, my family got along well. Though that was partially because we all had our favorite cousins. I think Frédérique's is Sara," she added in a whisper.

"Don't look now, but I think there are more favorites being decided." She pointed, and Victoire looked and saw Ianthe and Xavier teasing Valerian, while Marshall and Yadira ignored the world around them. The witches exchanged a glance. Rose and Scorpius, Al and Calytrix, and Lily and Teddy might have a problem on their hands.

*153—Box*

Asha Vivian Nott–Goyle (she paused to laugh; sometimes she thought she was "not Goyle") felt trapped in a box. One like the ones in her mother, Tracey's, shop, that seemed to radiate Dark power. Sometimes it was too much, being married to Macareus. She adored her in-laws—Millicent and Gregory were wonderful people—and she loved her daughter, Quistis, even though she was growing close to Valerian Scamander (who was more Weasley than Asha preferred, but still).

Sometimes it was too much, not working because Mac worked and didn't want her to work. But then he'd come home and get angry at her, because she was no good around the house. She was an all right mother, but she was a rubbish wife. And Mac would remind her of that every time. He'd say,

"Remember Albus? Remember him and his family? And his cousins? Even Victoire is good at everything you're not."

And Asha secretly, remotely wished Victoire and Professor Longbottom happiness, because, with Victoire taken, Macareus might one day realize what he did have with Asha…she hoped.

*154—Tread*

Vic—

Thought you should know… Now that Fréd's started her second year, she and her friends get taken to the castle via carriage. As you know but have never seen, thestrals pull the carriages.

Well, Frédérique had a bit of a fit when she saw them. Sara had to spend the night with her in the Hospital Wing, just so Pomfrey could rest assure that Fréd was all right.

But I had to talk to her. She had questions. So I had to tell her about what happened at Shell Cottage when the girls were little…

It frightens me, to know that—even for a short moment—Margot actually died…

Please don't be mad. We'll come home on the weekend—I've got Minerva's permission.

Love, Neville

*155—Chance*

Maria led the way, but even her leadership skills couldn't help them today. "Ah, hell… I think most of the compartments are taken."

"What? You've got to be joking!" Victoire frowned. "I didn't see Alethea yet—maybe we could sit with her? Or Molly. Molly's the type to have snagged a quiet one to read for the whole trip."

Her friend groaned and cursed in Portuguese. "Great. Not that I dislike your cousin, but the last thing I want to do is share a compartment with underclassmen for our seventh year. No offense to Alethea either…" Maria's eyes alighted on a rather quiet compartment. "Ah. We may be in luck."

"Yeah?" Victoire turned to peer inside, but she lost the opportunity as Maria grabbed her and threw the door open.

"Hello, professors! May we join you? Everywhere else is full. And we promise we don't bite."

At first, Victoire wanted to kill Maria. But, when Professor Longbottom and Professor Creevey welcomed them, Victoire felt like snogging her.

*156—Stars*

Neville took a deep breath and released it in the cool night air. He held on tightly to Victoire's hand, and then he took another big breath. He began, "I won't say it. I won't say I'll give you the stars, the sun, and the Moon. I won't say that anyone took the stars or diamonds or the purest raindrops or crystals and put them in your eyes to give them their sparkle. I won't say that you were carved out of marble or alabaster or even rose quartz because you're flawless. I won't say I'll fly you to the Moon and back, because I wouldn't have the stomach to do so even if it were possible." He added, "I will never give you clichés, which seems impossible because I want to assert that you and I are above clichés and that you deserve more than them, which is a couple of clichés strung together right there." Neville glanced at his girlfriend and was shocked to find her crying. He chuckled. "Why are you crying? I was going to give you the biggest cliché of all, because I don't know better how to say it—I love you."

Victoire threw her arms around him. "But—But I was going to say all of that to you…!"

*157—Here*

"One minute to show time," Victoire uttered under her breath. She clutched her bouquet so tightly that she was afraid she'd ruin it. But she couldn't help it. She was so nervous.

At that point, her mother appeared. Fleur didn't look completely happy at this event, and Victoire didn't expect her to be. She knew she couldn't win all battles. And Fleur confirmed that: "Well, it looks as eef everyone eez ready."

Victoire nodded. "Thank you."

Fleur smiled, though her smile was small. "Ah, Victoire…"

"Yes?"

Her mother's shoulders slackened. "Zis eez not what I envisioned for you," Fleur stated, eyeing Victoire's growing belly, which was visible through her wedding dress. "But…you are 'appy, and zat does mattair. You 'ave a 'ome wiz 'im, but also one 'ere." And, with that, Fleur pulled her eldest child to her bosom and hugged her, as if that might reset the world or at least stop it.

*158—Chocolate*

"Wow! It's brilliant in here!"

Neville beamed as Victoire walked around the dinner table, taking in every last thing. "I thought since I had the time for once, why not go all out, yeah?"

Victoire raised an eyebrow. "You really are giddy about Valentine's being on a weekend this year, aren't you?"

"Yes!" he replied. He motioned to her. "Look, look! There are candied rose petals, Pepper Imps—your favorite—and Ice Mice, chocolate lollies, little candy hearts, and this!" With a flourish, he drew her attention to the chocolate fountain. "Isn't it amazing, the things Muggles come up with? Justin told me about them, and I just had to get one, though it's small. Still, we can have fresh-dipped strawberries!"

"Neville, I'm allergic to chocolate," she deadpanned.

He froze for a second. Then the color returned to his face, and she laughed, and he tickled her, because he'd seen her eat Chocolate Frogs before.

*159—Call*

Her uncle blew out the candles on his birthday cake, which was littered with dozens of the little fire hazards. Everyone gave a ridiculous cheer, and a few people clapped, but Harry took it all in stride.

Ginny cut it up and began passing out the slices with Rose and Victoire's help. Since the whole family had come to celebrate Harry's birthday, it meant a lot of cake. But there were, of course, several family friends in attendance.

Victoire took a slice to Neville, who stood off to the side with Dean and Luna. "Ah, thank you, Miss Weasley," the professor said without a second thought.

Dean laughed, and even Luna tittered. "Ah, isn't that a little formal, mate?" Dean asked.

Neville blinked, and his face flushed. "Ah, no, I mean—" He stumbled over his words, finally giving up with a sigh and sagging shoulders. "Sorry, um, Victoire… I'm just so used to, in school…"

"It's fine, professor," she teased, but she was already planning to make him call her by her first name after her seventh year.

*160—Pace*

"You. Are. Being. Ridiculous."

Neville blushed and averted his gaze. He couldn't meet Victoire's glare. "No, I'm not."

She threw her hands up in the air. "Yes, you are! What is with you?"

"With me? Why does it have to be something about me?"

Victoire yanked on his collar so that they were eye to eye. "Neville, we've been on four dates. Is it really too much to ask you to hold my hand?"

"Yes!" he said without hesitation. "It's been a long time since I felt this way, and I'd like to take things nice and slow, otherwise I might scare myself away."

Her eyes softened, and she smiled. "Very well. You win." She at least managed to rest her head on his arm. "But, at this rate, it'll be another year before you even kiss me."

Remarks for—

Ch152: B3 CUTE! Yes, Dennis still takes up the camera from time to time… :') Fyi, since this is the first time seeing them… Xavier and Yadira are Al and Calytrix's twins. We'll see them again. I think. O.o

Ch153: Theodore Nott/Tracey Davis gets us Asha. Millicent Bulstrode/Gregory Goyle gets us Mac. Tracey owns and runs Borgin and Burkes. Each ship has their own story, "Sapere Aude" and "Spring Cleaning," respectively, both forthcoming oneshots.

Ch154: Please reference #50—Mermaid.

Ch155: It's Victoire's fault they were late to snag a compartment. Reference #10—Goodbye.

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave an anon/unsigned review via the FFN link or comment via the AO3 link at the top of the post, especially if you enjoyed this!

~mew

2017 note (regarding ch153): …annnnd those two stories mentioned in my old A/N are also still forthcoming. *sighs* There's just not enough time in the world to write every last idea I have… ;w;

And if you want to support until the ride ends, please swing by its FFN and AO3 versions and consider liking and reblogging these posts on my HariPo fic tumblr!

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camelliacats · 3 years

Text

until the ride ends & even after that (parts 101-110/200)

Drabbles spanning the lives and love of Victoire Weasley and Neville Longbottom.

Chapters 101-110: [FFN] [AO3] | ← → | start from the beginning

Pairings/Characters: Victoire Weasley/Neville Longbottom, Molly Weasley II (mentions of Molly/Michael Corner), Fleur Delacour–Weasley, George Weasley, Dominique Weasley/Lysander Scamander, Dennis Creevey, & OCs, with a cameo from Filius Flitwick

Rating: K+

Words: ~1,430 collectively

Additional info: romance, cross gen, family, angst, fluff, Maydayverse, Next Gen era, 3rd person POV

*101—Handle*

He loved her curves. All innuendos aside, he loved how she was nothing but curves. There was nothing sharp—she was smooth everywhere.

Whenever she reclined on her side on the couch, he'd be reminded of how much he loved her curves. With her distracted often by her book or sketchbook, Neville could let his eyes rove: over her dainty feet and dip at her ankles, over her strong calves and dip at her knees, over her hips and dip at her waist, over her shoulder and dip at her neck before finally roving over her head.

He loved the dip of her neck the most. It was the perfect place to rest his chin or face, and it was always the right temperature…

Neville chuckled as Victoire's head flopped on her supporting arm and a snore escaped her. Her hair fell over her face and shoulders in waves, and he noted that her hair shared her curves. But that was fine, he thought as he draped a blanket over her, because he could handle those curves, too.

*102—Suit*

"Well! Don't you look sharp?"

Neville gave Victoire a look in the mirror, not convinced. "Why can't I just get some new dress robes instead?"

"Because you've never had a really nice suit before. And because I got to make it, so think of it as me practicing my skills." She beamed at him.

He turned to try and see all of himself, and his frown didn't go away. "Yes, luv, but…" He sighed. "I'm just better suited for dress robes."

Victoire raised one orange eyebrow and fixed him with that Weasley stare. "Neville, dear, if I say you can pull off a suit to celebrate your twenty years of teaching, then listen to me."

"Yes, but—"

"And," she forced, yanking on his tie, "you should know that a bloke in a well-tailored suit is to women what a woman in lingerie is to men."

*103—Corner*

She turned to look over her shoulder and called out to the door. "Sara. Come on out."

A little girl of almost three peeked around the corner. Her curly hair was short and so dark brown, it might as well have been black. But her eyes…her eyes were the unmistakable Prewett brown.

"Come on now," Molly coaxed her, and Sara reluctantly trudged outside to the porch. When her daughter was near enough, Molly picked her up and held her in her lap, and Sara snuggled her mother's bosom. "Say hi to your cousin."

Sara looked at Victoire, waved, and then turned her face in towards Molly's shoulder.

Molly laughed. "Funny, isn't it? How Michael and I could've had such a shy child?"

Victoire smiled gently. "Well, she's a Corner, Mols. She might not have much Weasley pigheadedness…" But the two witches nodded in agreement, because there weren't as many Weasleys now as there once had been.

*104—Land*

Fleur tapped her quill on her letter. She wondered if she'd expressed herself well enough. She hoped so… Just in case, she reread her written words:

Dear Neville—

I know that we have not been on the best of terms. I know that, even though you and Victoire have married and have two beautiful little girls, I have not been as welcoming as I could have.

My critiques of you are numerous. You are so much older than her. You already had a family once. Your suburban home cannot accommodate the four of you…

…so visit Shell Cottage often. Bill and I have more than enough land for the girls to play on.

—Fleur

She smiled…and then worked on carefully translating her olive branch into English from French.

*105—Outcast*

They were having a party for James' twentieth birthday, as organized by Mrs. Livingston.

"Please, it's 'Elizabeth,' darling," Mrs. Livingston told Victoire. They were meeting for the first time, and Victoire liked her already.

Victoire smiled at the woman's friendliness. "Right. Elizabeth, then. I was wondering… Was it long before you accepted your son's relationship?"

Elizabeth exchanged a look with her husband, Sampson. Then she shrugged. "Not really. We're old, and apparently we 'Muggles' don't live as long as you witches and wizards do." Her smile was kind and sincere. "Why waste any precious time hating what means the most to Justin?"

"Not to mention that they'd already married," Sampson gruffly added.

Victoire chuckled. "Justin's lucky to have you two for parents. …you should talk to my parents sometime…"

*106—Ramifications*

"Do you ever worry, how it would've been different, if Fred had survived?"

George had been about to pass Neville the list of new Wheezes to watch out for in the coming school year, but he stopped. "Sometimes," the older man answered.

"What would you have done, if you couldn't have Angelina—er, I mean, be with her?" Neville's cheeks reddened.

"Dunno. There are always problems in loving someone you can't have, which Ange likely would've been, had the war been different."

Neville frowned, feeling a little hopeless since his romance with Victoire was new and just as fragile. "I see."

George eyed him and passed on the list after all. He grinned. "The trick, Neville, is not to think of what could've been, but to think of what you do have."

*107—Ceiling*

She surveyed his home from top to bottom, floor to ceiling. Victoire clutched the strap of the bag over her shoulder and gave him a wary look. "Are you sure it's all right?"

Neville rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, the timing's not perfect, but…my home is your home." Despite saying such clichéd words, he knew he meant them. Merlin! Just how hard had he fallen for her?

Victoire dropped her bag and dove into his arms. She sighed, content to be with him. "So," she asked, her voice muffled by his chest, "I guess we'll finally find out if a teacher's salary can support more than one person, yeah?"

He chuckled. "We'll be fine, Vic."

She looked up at him. "I'll make Malkin make me her apprentice, no matter what."

Neville stayed quiet and let her plan. In the end, he'd always make sure that Victoire would never want for anything.

*108—Tales*

"I'm glad."

Dominique and Lysander exchanged a glance and then looked across the counter as Victoire rang up their purchases from Malkin's, since they were going to have a nice night out with their parents, Bill and Fleur, and Luna and Rolf. But Dominique didn't know what her sister was talking about, because she had yet to tell her that she and Lysander were planning on marrying soon. "Glad about what?" the blond witch asked.

Victoire smiled, half lost in her own world. "That you're my sister."

Dominique blushed, and Lysander chuckled at their adorableness. "Why are you saying that now?"

"Because, you didn't send Lysander to tell me that you hated me. You never hated me with Neville. But James…" She sighed. "Calytrix is still talking for Al. He just can't accept James with Justin, it seems."

The younger Weasley nodded, but she wondered: Was it gossip if what they chatted about behind Al's back was true?

*109—Size*

"Creevey, Colin!"

Despite his size, Flitwick could project, which was a good thing. Since becoming deputy headmaster following the war, he had done everything McGonagall once had.

Neville nudged Dennis in his side. He grinned. "Do you see Minerva's face? She looks as though she's seen a ghost!"

Dennis' face reddened. "Yes, well, Junior's not the spitting image of my brother, but Maria insisted on him taking my surname. Still, it should've been 'Ferraz'… We're not even married…"

"Yet," Neville added for him. He couldn't understand why his friend refused to marry a woman he clearly loved.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the Sorting Hat belted. Flitwick almost fell from his own stool.

Neville sighed. So, Junior was in his House… He wasn't sure anymore if he wanted Frédérique to be there, too.

*110—Jingle*

Three-year-old Frédérique reached for the light. "Pretty!" she cooed.

Victoire laughed and ruffled her daughter's hair. "You like the Patronus Charm?"

Frédérique nodded emphatically in the hazy light of dusk as they played in the backyard. "Make an animal! Make an animal!"

"Oh, Frédérique…"

"Please?"

Victoire gave in. She focused, and a thousand good memories flooded her. But her magic took form when she rested one hand on her belly; her and Neville's second child would come one of these days.

Her spell took the shape of a martin, which playfully darted around Frédérique. Then the little girl asked, "Why does yours and Daddy's lion make a sound?"

"Because that jingling noise is the sound of happiness."

Remarks for—

Ch102: XD That last bit was something I saw on the internet once, though paraphrased… Nice, yeah? Especially if we think about Matthew Lewis as Neville, that gem.

Ch103: Kind of a realization that, in my headcanon, there are only a few more Potters and no more Weasleys… o.o Also, I like to think of Molly (the original one) as passing on Prewett brown eyes… :')

Ch105: A nod to J6, "Trial By Fire," in which we meet Justin Finch–Fletchley's parents. :') I love them! XD

Ch110: The charm probably doesn't make a noise…but what if it did? ;)

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave an anon/unsigned review via the FFN link or comment via the AO3 link at the top of the post, especially if you enjoyed this!

~mew

2017 note (regarding ch105): Tbh, since early on in writing for the HariPo fandom, I realized (not just as a lover of age-gap ships) that what Elizabeth says here is v impt. Age doesn't matter as much to beings who can live for hundreds of yrs. It kind of warms my heart that I had her bring it up here, with Vic. -w-

(regarding ch110): Yeah. I actually have all the next-gen's Patronuses figured out, if anyone's curious. XD

And if you want to support until the ride ends, please swing by its FFN and AO3 versions and consider liking and reblogging these posts on my HariPo fic tumblr!

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camelliacats · 4 years

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until the ride ends & even after that (parts 81-90/200)

Drabbles spanning the lives and love of Victoire Weasley and Neville Longbottom.

Chapters 81-90: [FFN] [AO3] | ← → | start from the beginning

Pairings/Characters: Victoire Weasley/Neville Longbottom, Augusta Longbottom, Scorpius Malfoy/Rose Weasley, Oliver Wood, & OCs

Rating: K+

Words: ~1,480 collectively

Additional info: romance, cross gen, family, angst, fluff, Maydayverse, Next Gen era, 3rd person POV

*81—Care*

He was in love again. Augusta was sure of it. Before, after he'd split from Hannah, Neville had taken to having his grandmother over more often once more. But now she saw less and less of him, and they spent less and less time together.

So it was nice right now, with the two of them sitting quietly, enjoying the other's company while eating Chocolate Frogs.

"What's her name?" Augusta inquired.

Neville held a Chocolate Frog in his open palm as if it were Trevor and not a bit of magic. "Her name is 'Victoire.'"

His grandmother snorted. "She's French?"

"Only on her mother's side. Really, she's as British as they come."

"And when do I get to meet her?"

He smiled. "Soon, I hope."

*82—Queens*

They sat, rocking the occupied crib. They were doting on her, their new baby girl.

"She's so sweet," Victoire cooed, staring at their baby.

Neville pulled his eyes away from their child long enough to catch Victoire's new maternal glow. He smiled. "Yeah, she is."

Victoire looked at him. "Can you believe it? We created that. We made her!" She seemed ready to burst in her bubbliness.

He laughed softly so as not to wake the baby. "That's a delicate way of putting it!"

Victoire beamed. "But she's ours, all ours… I quite like her name, too—'Frédérique Élisabeth Longbottom.' It rolls right off the tongue, don't you think?"

"It's a beautiful name," he remarked. "And now I have two queens instead of one."

*83—Denims*

"Now that is a sight to behold."

"Hmm? What are you looking at, Mum? Oh, my Godric, gross! That's Dad's bum!"

"Yes, and lucky for you and your sister that I still like it!"

"Ew, ew, ew! We are so not talking about this!"

"Your fault. You invited Junior over to help us in the yard. Don't tell me you've not been staring at him in his denims, too, Frédérique. And what's with that, anyway? His nickname's 'Junior,' but he's actually 'Colin Creevey II.' So we shouldn't be calling him 'Junior' since Dennis, and not Colin, is his dad."

"Oh, I dunno. He's just always been 'Junior,' okay? And can we please stop admiring blokes' bums now?!"

"Hey, even I can appreciate the view from here…"

"Mum! That's my boyfriend you're talking about!"

"As I said, I can appreciate the view…"

*84—Rainbow*

It was a random thought. The year-end feast was beginning, and Ravenclaw had won the House Cup. Everything was cobalt and bronze. It was beautiful.

But he saw more than just cobalt and bronze.

He saw the indigo of her eyes when cast in shadow. He could picture the clear blue sky of summer behind her. He could see the hint of violet mascara which she wore on special occasions. He looked forward to reclining on the green, green grass with her, their tanning fingers entwined. He could picture the yellow of her straw summer hat. Then there were her luscious waves, orange tresses that always flew freely and fell over her shoulders as they pleased. Of course there was also red—the red of her lips and the red of her cheeks whenever she moved to kiss him.

The colors and Ravenclaw reminded Neville of Victoire, and he couldn't wait to go home tomorrow morning, home to her.

*85—Nothing*

Maria rolled a lollipop between her fingers as though Hogwarts hadn't ended yet for them. She looked up at her best mate, but Victoire was backlit by the sun, so Maria had to shade her dark eyes. "What are you going to do, now that we're out of school?"

Victoire had her hands on her hips as she stood before her sitting friend. "Nothing. I don't think Malkin will hire."

"Have you showed her your designs? And your mum taught you loads about sewing and patterns."

The Weasley shrugged. "Dunno. I mean… I feel so unsure about everything right now."

Maria frowned and opened the lollipop. "Share-sies?"

"No, thanks, Maria."

"Maybe you should just forget about Longbottom…" But, even as Maria said it, she knew Victoire was likely to give it another go.

*86—Again*

He could hear their chatter even in the next room. "Vic, is Maria here again?" Neville pushed open the door to the kitchen, his question answered.

"What, don't you love having me over?" Maria asked, switching three-year-old Frédérique from one to hip to another.

Neville sighed. "I have no comment. But I remember that, the few times Vic got into trouble, you were always there," he pointed out.

The dark-haired witch grinned as Victoire groaned. "Lucky for you, professor, that Vic had detention with you a few times."

"Maria!" Victoire scolded her. But she was blushing and distracted. Neville narrowed his eyes at them.

"Is there something going on that I should know about?" he inquired warily.

"Mummy's got a pregnant!" Frédérique happily chirped before the two women could respond.

*87—Spoil*

"Happy Christmas!" Rose and Scorpius chirped as they passed a large gift to their daughter.

Ianthe opened it to find the gorgeous azure cloak she'd been eyeing for a while. It was the perfect fit for her thirteen-year-old frame, and it had sparkly red material threaded through it at the hem and cuffs so that, when she'd move, the cloth would look blue then purple then red. It was lovely…but Ianthe frowned.

"What's wrong?" Scorpius asked, as attuned as ever to his baby girl's emotions.

"Thank you for the gift," Ianthe said in lieu of replying. She knew her parents shared a concerned glance while she moved on to the next gift and the next.

But she couldn't answer her father in a thousand years. There was just no way that she could say she wished not for material things but the kind of family time Margot and Fréd got with their parents. She wished for her parents to spoil her in that way.

*88—Side*

After the reception, the guests dispersed and disappeared, and Neville chose to break things down so that Victoire could rest. Thankfully, Oliver, Louis, and Hugo had stayed behind to help.

The four men worked silently as Gabrielle and Dominique put the leftover food and favors away. The wizards had started working from the middle in pairs and worked their way outwards, so that now Louis and Hugo were across the way from Neville and Oliver.

Oliver tried to chat with the new groom. "So, Neville…"

Neville glanced at him. Once upon a time, it would've been great to have Oliver on his side. But, as Oliver had become Victoire's uncle through marriage, Neville knew what to expect. "Yeah?" he prompted anyway. He was expecting what he'd heard from Bill and Fleur, from Dominique and Louis, from Maria, from nearly all of the family—a threat to treat her right or else.

So when Oliver said, "She's a lucky woman," Neville was speechless. And so the pleasant silence resumed.

*89—Month*

Once upon a time, Neville lived peacefully with Victoire. They had their jobs and their families, but they came first in their life.

Scandalous age-gap aside, they were a perfectly normal couple. They traded off chores whenever they felt like it, they had plenty of arguments, and they indulged in affection daily.

To be honest, it grew so that there weren't any more surprises with them. It could be expected that Victoire would never turn the lights off when leaving a room, that Neville would remark every time he saw a car pass their house that he should get an auto, that neither of them would refill the birdfeeder in the backyard because they were sick of attracting everything but birds.

Victoire didn't mind, though. She just saw it as a sign of growing up.

Neville minded, however, so he decided to change it up. And every night for one month he would present her with a different bouquet of flowers and a different language as he said, "I love you."

*90—Week*

On Monday, he kissed her to make her get up. The peck on the cheek gave her the energy to start the work week.

On Tuesday, she kissed him to heal. He'd burned his tongue on the tasty fish she'd prepared for dinner.

On Wednesday, he kissed her as another encouragement. A good snog helped them both get through the middle of the week.

On Thursday, she kissed him for the heck of it. It was just a sign of affection, a kiss on the shoulder, but what did anyone expect? It was hot in the summer, and she had no energy.

On Friday, he kissed her because it was raining. There was nothing like a kiss hidden by an umbrella.

On Saturday, she kissed the hand of his which she held. They danced the night away, and she never let go of him.

On Sunday, they didn't kiss. But they slept in and dreamt of all their kisses before.

Remarks for—

Ch82: Note: They're not just his queens for being the special ladies in his life… It's because there's Victoire—Victoria—and Frédérique Élisabeth—Elizabeth. The queens of England. XD This is more of a private joke than anything else, though, because I know two sisters whose parents named them like that, so it's a running joke.

Ch87: And so I finally introduce my OC, Ianthe, Scorrose's daughter. I like to think that Scor and Rose would be the worst of their gen when it comes to doting—they've got it bad. Sadly, sometimes Ianthe feels suffocated by that… But they mean well.

Ch88: X3 Gabriver is kinda headcanon for me, tbh… No kids, but marriage. So Oliver's the uncle of Vic, Dom, and Louis. But I think he'd say this because he's known Neville a lot longer than he's known his niece, haha.

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave an anon/unsigned review via the FFN link or comment via the AO3 link at the top of the post, especially if you enjoyed this!

~mew

2017 note (regarding ch88): Oliver is such a sweetheart, my goodness. I think he might cut Neville some slack, too, bc Oliver is so Quidditch-minded anyway. XD

And if you want to support until the ride ends, please swing by its FFN and AO3 versions and consider liking and reblogging these posts on my HariPo fic tumblr!

#hp #harry potter #vicnev #victoire weasley #neville longbottom #<2500 #romance #cross gen #family #angst #fluff #rated: PG #maydayverse #next gen era #3rd POV #vicnev: until the ride ends and even after that

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camelliacats · 4 years

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until the ride ends & even after that (parts 11-20/200)

Drabbles spanning the lives and love of Victoire Weasley and Neville Longbottom.

Chapters 11-20: [FFN] [AO3] | ← →

Pairings/Characters: Victoire Weasley/Neville Longbottom, Louis Weasley, Bill Weasley, Rose Weasley, Lucy Weasley, Lily Luna Potter, Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, Fleur Delacour–Weasley, & OCs

Rating: K+

Words: ~1,440 collectively

Additional info: romance, cross gen, family, angst, fluff, Maydayverse, Next Gen era, 3rd person POV

*11—Bad*

So, so wrong.

Neville squeezed his eyes shut. Maybe if he didn't think those things, then his heart would stop beating so fast. But he could barely think with Victoire sitting beside him. Good Godric, had he ever been able to think with her around?

"Neville, are you all right?" And she pouted and looked so concerned and bent a little closer to him and—BY MERLIN, WHY DID SHE HAVE TO WEAR SUCH AN INVITING V-NECK TOP TODAY?!

Blood rushed in his ears as he was even more aware of her thigh pressed against his. Sweet founders, he had never felt so crazy about a witch before. And they'd only been dating for a month…was this some Veela power she had over him?

But Neville came to another conclusion. Victoire Apolline Weasley had helped him finally hit puberty, yessirree.

*12—Girl*

"Oh, Neville, I just restocked."

He assured Victoire that he'd be fine opening his own medicine cabinet in his own bathroom. Well, their bathroom. They'd been living together for over a year, and they both knew Victoire wasn't going anywhere (even if Neville hadn't put a ring on her finger…yet).

But he was in no way yet used to living with a witch (he'd spent more time at Hogwarts than at the Leaky Cauldron so long ago), for he opened the cabinet and out poured an assortment of feminine products and potions, magical and Muggle alike. There were things to rub on skin, things to peel off skin, things to clip, and things to insert (all right, now how did that one work?).

Victoire groaned and came to his rescue and swished her wand to put everything back. "Sorry…," he mumbled, redder than a tomato.

She quirked an eyebrow. "You forgot I'm a girl, didn't you?"

*13—Ravenclaw*

"You know, I think Neville's got a type," Louis said as he and Victoire sat outside. They were sitting on the stoop of Neville's house; it was Louis' second visit since his sister had moved out of the family home two months ago.

"What do you mean?" the witch asked. Sometimes she liked staring at the blue sky with her brother. But sometimes his talking ruined the moment.

"Lorcan and Lysander were joking about how Neville was almost their dad. He liked Luna once upon a time."

"So? Hannah was a 'Puff."

"But you were an eagle just like the twins' mum."

Victoire opened her mouth—and shut it. For being so smart, she couldn't find a retort to match Louis' statement. It sucked that he was right.

*14—Time*

Victoire dropped into a seat at the ice-cream bar at Florean's and held her head. Could the day possibly get any worse?

It was bad enough that she'd worked on a Saturday, and she hadn't worked a weekend in forever. But Madam Malkin had had a family obligation of her own and had left the shop in Victoire's capable hands—which had been a nice thought until Cousin Molly had arrived for her appointment. And Molly had only recently gotten engaged to Michael Corner and needed new robes to meet his family and already she was a bridezilla! Not to mention that Victoire had had to deal with a crotchety old man afterwards all the while brooding over the fact that she would not be the first of her generation to marry. And, on top of all of that, Neville had asked to meet her here and he was LATE.

Speak of the devil, he appeared. "Vic?"

"What?" she snapped, and she scared him enough that he jolted and dropped a ring he'd been holding…oh. A ring. …better late than never, yes?

*15—Guilty*

Bill finished telling his story, and his family laughed. But he rested his eyes on his eldest daughter. "Have plans, Victoire?"

She blushed at being called out, and her fork clattered on her plate. "Mm, what? Sorry. Why?"

Her father pointed to her plate. "Because you're the only one who's rushed through her meal—everyone else is only half finished." To emphasize his point, he gestured to Fleur, Dominique, Louis, and himself in turn.

Victoire's mouth opened slightly and formed an "O." She hadn't meant to be obvious, but she had planned on going to Neville's for dessert. But, as excited as she was to be taking things slowly with Neville, she was sort of hoping for at least a tiny kiss tonight. However, looking into her father's eyes—eyes that matched hers—she shook her head in reply, and the meal continued. She was being a bit selfish. Victoire felt fairly certain that she'd have a lot of time with Neville in the future…but her father wouldn't always be around.

*16—Redhead*

"Good Godric, woman, Neville's going to be stunned when he sees you. And I don't mean by Expelliarmus." Rose shook her head and whistled.

Victoire blushed and eyed her reflection. Behind her veiled head, Rose, Lucy, and Lily stood admiring her. "I guess this is it," the eldest witch said. "I'm finally getting married."

Lucy was the one bridesmaid to voice their thoughts. "You're different, you know. You two will last."

"Yeah," Lily chimed in. "Blondes are no fun. Neville just needed a sexy redhead."

"Lily, my hair is strawberry–blonde and my sister is a platinum-blonde," Victoire pointed out dryly.

Lily grinned. "Why lump yourself in with the likes of Neville's past loves, eh? You're Victoire, the one who won't let him get away."

Victoire, too, grinned at that.

*17—Weeds*

"Bugger!"

"Papa!"

Neville bit back another curse. "Sorry, sorry, Maggie…" He struggled to pull out another weed.

His seven-year-old daughter—with blue eyes like her mother's and dark hair like his—shook her head. "Mama's gonna scold you."

"I didn't mean to swear—"

"You know she only likes my other nickname," the little girl chided.

Neville stopped what he was doing and caught her up in his arms, where she shrieked with laughter. "Marguerite or Maggie or Margaret or Margot, you're still my little girl. Now either help me out here or go inside and bother your big sister."

Marguerite grinned and pecked her father's cheek. She stayed to help.

*18—Click*

Seamus couldn't stop laughing. Dean looked apologetically at Neville. "Neville always was th' slowest one of us, yeah?" the Irishman gasped.

"I was just making a point!" Neville said defensively. He furrowed his brow. "Just like you and Lavender—"

"—you an' Victoire 'click'?" Seamus shook his head. "Lad, I've been married ter Lav fer a while an' we 'ave a son. But you an' Victoire?" He laughed again.

"What Seamus means," Dean explained as he rolled his eyes at his best mate, "is that you only just asked her out. Not to mention that she's fresh out of Hogwarts, mate."

Finally Seamus got a hold of himself. "But maybe…maybe tha's wha' Neville needs, yeah?"

Though Neville wasn't sure he liked Seamus' wording, he sort of agreed. If there was one thing he knew, it was that he needed Victoire.

*19—Seaside*

"I love it here, Mamie."

Fleur chuckled gently. "Frédérique, zat eez funny."

"Why?" her granddaughter asked. They were walking along the beach outside Shell Cottage. It was just the two of them today.

"You were born 'ere," Fleur answered. "Your maman and papa stopped 'ere on ze way to ze 'ospital and never made it zere. You were born in ze baztub!" Fleur chuckled again as she replayed that night in her mind. "You were almost named 'Océane' for zat."

Frédérique scrunched up her nose. "I don't like that. I can't picture not being 'Frédérique.'"

Fleur sat on the sand and tugged Frédérique to her. "Well, you will always be 'Frédérique,' no matter what 'Ouse you get at 'Ogwarts," she reassured the ten-year-old. Frédérique shrugged it off as if she hadn't been bothered.

*20—Imperfect*

The whispers floated around him. "Who do you think he's waiting for?" "Judging by that shabby jumper, probably his sister or grandmother!" "What a sorry-looking gent, standing there at the mouth of the bridge."

It didn't get any better when Victoire appeared.

"No! Him with her?" "Oh, he's gotta be her dad!" "My, how inappropriate—don't look." "Either she's crazy or she's a lot older than she looks."

Or when they kissed.

"Ew! Ew, ew, ew!" "I'm calling the police; there's no possibility that that's a woman and not a girl." "Then hurry; they're walking away."

The whispers faded as he and Victoire headed for the ferry that would carry them to an exhibit of flora and fauna near the village. Victoire squeezed his hand; she agreed. At least for a year, they would stick to cities and avoid little, gossiping hamlets like this one.

Remarks for—

Ch14: This is the 2nd time so far that I've mentioned Florean's; in my headcanon, the place is owned by Marcus Belby and his family after the war, because everyone needs Florean's, even without Florean himself around.

Ch16: I only meant Luna and Hannah, not Dominique. ;P And the point was that all the women in the room here are redheads, *lol*.

Ch17: Yes, an OC, but, as she's the 2nd child for Vicnev, maybe I'm forgiven? Not to mention she'll reappear in this collection.

Ch18: Cookies if you know Seamus and Lav's son.

Ch19: And now we meet their 1st daughter. This is also the 1st drabble in the collection not to actually have either Vic or Nev! I kinda wanted to include other charries, since I thought it would get boring/repetitive if Vic and Nev were everywhere.

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave an anon/unsigned review via the FFN link or comment via the AO3 link at the top of the post, especially if you enjoyed this!

~mew

2017 note (regarding ch14): Oops! I wrote this before writing Mollychael's "official" Maydayverse fic, "Slip & Fall," so I had to change a certain word so that things would coincide, as until the ride ends is considered Maydayverse, too. But I'd love to expand this drabble sometime. =w=

And if you want to support until the ride ends, please swing by its FFN and AO3 versions and consider liking and reblogging these posts on my HariPo fic tumblr!

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camelliacats · 4 years

Text

until the ride ends & even after that (parts 21-30/200)

Drabbles spanning the lives and love of Victoire Weasley and Neville Longbottom.

Chapters 21-30: [FFN] [AO3] | ← → | start from the beginning

Pairings/Characters: Victoire Weasley/Neville Longbottom, Teddy Lupin, Dominique Weasley, Gabrielle Delacour, James Sirius Potter (mentions of James/Justin Finch–Fletchley), Fleur Delacour–Weasley, Louis Weasley, Alice Longbottom, & OCs

Rating: K+

Words: ~1,440 collectively

Additional info: romance, cross gen, family, angst, fluff, Maydayverse, Next Gen era, 3rd person POV

*21—Directions*

It was hard. Maybe it was too hard. Maybe nothing was worth the effort.

After being married for a year and a half, Victoire felt as though she and Neville had reached an impasse. Things felt so routine. Everything in the house was in its place. Neville still buttoned his jumpers the same way (skipping the second-to-last button). Victoire still parted her hair the same way (not centered—just a little to the left).

Was this marriage? Where was the excitement? Everyone said that marriage was "the next big adventure," but Victoire didn't agree. Adventures had a group of heroes and heroines going together to the same places. But Victoire felt as though she were descending some high mountain while Neville ascended it.

How could they fix that? Victoire couldn't fix it alone. She had to know that Neville wanted the same. So she stopped analyzing and just asked him.

*22—Memory*

He had a bad taste in his mouth. Seeing Teddy like that—so single like that—had put an uneasy feeling in his gut. All right, so maybe Lily and Teddy were on the outs. All right, so maybe Teddy and Victoire had stayed good friends after their short-lived romance more than a decade ago. And, all right, so Victoire was kind to have let Teddy take the couch for one night, as Lily had kicked him out.

But Neville couldn't shake the uneasy feeling he got when he'd seen Teddy look at Victoire a certain way. What was Teddy thinking? Did he think he'd made a mistake? Did he think that Victoire should've had his child and not Neville's? Was he plotting ways already for how to get Victoire back in his life for good?

Maybe Lily had had a good reason for booting him.

Even though Teddy and Lily patched things up later, Neville never would forget that one "rough patch."

*23—Gray*

How could they talk about it? It was such a gray area. It wasn't necessarily a good or bad thing, but it would definitely lead into a bad topic, that of their age gap.

Neville grimaced, as if to say, "Well, what do you think?"

Victoire reached out and touched the side of his face. She gently smiled as though telling him, "These things happen."

And his brow would furrow: "Easy for you to say. You're barely forty. And you'll be forever gorgeous."

She pecked his cheek: "I think it makes you look distinguished."

He sighed: "Liar." Then he turned with her to look at his reflection again. To have woken up on his sixtieth birthday with a spot of gray by his right ear? He would've felt better if the left side at least matched!

*24—Human*

"Aunt Gab? Do you think Neville really fell for Victoire?"

"Dominique, why do you ask?"

"Because of Mum's blood, of course."

"Your mother could only slightly entrance men; your grandmother was doubly powerful, so the Veela in her worked often. Lucky for us, your grandfather loved her in spite of the magic."

"But we're talking about Victoire and Louis and me…"

"Veela blood rarely works in males. As for you and your sister, the blood is so diluted that you might as well just consider yourselves witches and witches only."

"Oh."

"Something wrong?"

"… …I was just thinking that I want a love like Vic's…"

*25—Pea*

"Never again, James," Victoire grumbled.

James, her cousin, sighed. "Agreed, Vic." He ran a hand through his hair as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Just one more round! I'll beat him, I swear," Neville said without tearing his eyes away from his game of Exploding Snap with Justin.

Jacqueline, the teenaged adopted daughter of James and Justin, carried three-year-old Frédérique in her arms. "Can we all pause a sec?" She looked at Victoire. "Sorry, but I was playing with her, and she yanked on my necklace and broke it. Beads went everywhere."

"Then let's leave them and go find the beads so she's safe," James said, and he and Victoire followed her down the hall.

They found the beads, all right, because Victoire slipped on one the size of a pea. Needless to say, her fall got their husbands' attention. (Though Neville never did win that night—in more ways than one.)

*26—Stern*

Fleur locked eyes with her daughter. She'd said all she'd needed to say—how Neville was too old, how he likely still was upset years later from his divorce, how Fleur and Bill had sacrificed a lot to make sure their kids didn't have to face any kind of trouble whatsoever.

Victoire had barely gotten a word in. Fleur needed to understand so much—Victoire wanted them to know because she loved her parents dearly but she also deeply loved her former professor; she wanted them to realize that she'd never had such a connection with a man before and doubtful ever would with any other man. Acceptance would be nice, but Victoire at least wanted her voice to be heard. Was that too much to ask? She didn't think so.

Apparently, Fleur did. Because she refused to listen.

So Victoire left.

*27—Kitten*

"Oh, my Godric—Margot, come quick! Mum's going through her closet!"

Victoire winced as her two daughters nearly crashed into her room. "You know, I'm only looking to put things in storage," she told them.

"We know," they chimed with smirks worthy of their uncle.

Victoire rolled her eyes as she threw some tops, jumpers, and shoes in a pile. After one pair of kitten heels went in, she heard them audibly gasp.

"Don't even think about them!" Marguerite warned her sister.

Frédérique snorted. "And, what, you'll wear them the next time Herschel visits?"

Victoire rolled her eyes again. She recalled a time when Herschel had only been Lania and Dermot's son and when neither of her daughters had been interested in boys. She sort of missed that time!

*28—Smile*

Yeah…that smile was a bit unnerving. Especially when he saw it on such similar faces.

Funny how, though in the hot seat, all Neville could do was think that Victoire really didn't resemble Louis or Dominique. He supposed their basic facial structure was a bit similar. But Victoire had a few freckles on her nose, faintly; her siblings had none. Though Victoire had pink skin, Dominique and Louis were lightly tanned. Victoire looked like Bill, with blond hair strawberry enough to be called red and with blue eyes; Dominique and Louis were blond—Dominique platinum—and both had light brown eyes.

Not to mention that, while they were grilling him before letting him marry their sister, they shared this nearly evil smile. "I'm not going to hurt Victoire, you know."

"We know," Louis said, and Dominique nodded.

Ah. That sweetly implied threat… Yeah, they were Victoire's siblings, all right.

*29—Dress*

She looked mesmerizing.

Neville's mouth went dry, and she happily blushed and twirled for him in a gown of navy blue. "Merlin, Vic… You're…"

"Drop-dead gorgeous?" she supplied. "Thank you." She kissed his cheek and hugged him. "Oh, it's so nice to go to a restaurant for once. It's been so long."

Didn't he know it. They'd been together two years now, living together for one. But it felt as though it'd been longer, especially considering how wrapped up they could get in their work. But tonight, for once…they were taking time for themselves.

And, boy, was he glad they'd made this Date Night.

Victoire tittered. "So, Nev, are we actually going to go out and eat? Or are you too busy undressing me with your eyes?"

He had the decency to blush.

*30—"Alice"*

Frédérique was twelve and old enough to be curious and ask. "If our brother's named after Dad's dad…how come I wasn't named for Dad's mum?"

"Hannah thought to name your half-brother 'Frank.' Your father has only ever called him 'Frankie.' For a similar reason, you were never going to be 'Alice,'" Victoire replied. But Frédérique didn't like that roundabout answer, so the next day—after talking with Neville, who didn't want to come along—the two witches paid a visit to St. Mungo's.

Frank had passed a year before Victoire and Neville's marriage and Frédérique's birth. However, Alice was still there, though she had long ago become bedridden. She smiled dreamily when she saw Victoire; her smile was as brittle as her snow-white hair.

"Frédérique…meet your other grandmother, Alice." Victoire gingerly touched the older woman's cheek, and Alice grinned like a child at the warmth.

Frédérique said nothing. She grasped her grandmother's hand and gave it a squeeze…and, even when Alice passed three years later, Frédérique never told how Alice had squeezed back.

Remarks for—

Ch25: And there we have a spoiler for my 7th Jamestin fic, "Two Young Eyes to Guide Me."

Ch27: What a nice spin on "kitten." ;D Some explanation needed… If you've read my Jamestin (JamesSP/Justin) fics, then you'll know that Lania is the daughter of Lee and Marietta and Dermot is one of Justin's American cousins. They flirted in "Trial By Fire" barely, but I kind of like them together. So, their son, Herschel, makes his first appearance here, as a potential love interest for Margot! :D He's a few months older than her. And there are about 4 years between Marguerite and Frédérique. :] *end explanation*

Ch30: I've wanted to do this one for a little while. While Frankie (Frank Harfang Longbottom) is an OC of mine that's been around for a few years, I always wondered if Neville would name his kids after his parents, considering their deteriorating state. Therefore, Hannah was the one to show "respect" and name their son "Frank;" Neville, though, is old enough not to want that constant reminder of a horrible past. This doesn't mean he doesn't love his son or his parents; it simply means that his daughters would not carry a name that would make him sad every time he looked at them (hence the nickname "Frankie," too). In this visit, I don't think Alice recognizes her second daughter-in-law nor her granddaughter…but I think she senses they are warm and dear to her in spite of that. This drabble and the next, #31, are two that were hard to write because I got teary-eyed.

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave an anon/unsigned review via the FFN link or comment via the AO3 link at the top of the post, especially if you enjoyed this!

~mew

2017 note (regarding ch30): It could be 2017 or 2067 and I will still feel for Neville and how the wars affected his family. Godric, I love him so much. ;w;

And if you want to support until the ride ends, please swing by its FFN and AO3 versions and consider liking and reblogging these posts on my HariPo fic tumblr!

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camelliacats · 4 years

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until the ride ends & even after that (parts 91-100/200)

Drabbles spanning the lives and love of Victoire Weasley and Neville Longbottom.

Chapters 91-100: [FFN] [AO3] | ← → | start from the beginning

Pairings/Characters: Victoire Weasley/Neville Longbottom, Bill Weasley/Fleur Delacour–Weasley, Dominique Weasley/Lysander Scamander, & OCs

Rating: K+

Words: ~1,370 collectively

Additional info: romance, cross gen, family, angst, fluff, Maydayverse, Next Gen era, 3rd person POV

*91—Day*

"He's been like that all day."

Colin looked from the pensive face of his wife to the back of his father-in-law's head. "Really? Just staring out the window like that?"

Frédérique nodded. She was fighting tears. "He's not eaten anything. He hasn't left the room, either. I mean, we knew he was getting a little worse since…but…" Her voice caught. "I should go Floo Margot. She needs to get her family here if I'm right."

He let her dash off to call Marguerite and Herschel, but Colin entered Neville's room. "Um, Neville…?" he asked.

Neville didn't tear his eyes away from the window.

"Dad?" Colin tried.

Still, he didn't turn.

Colin cleared his throat. "Sir?"

Finally, Neville turned. "Ah, Mr. Creevey. I can't wait for the holidays. I want to watch the snow like this with my wife…"

*92—Scissors*

"Rock, paper, scissors!" they chanted together, and then they showed their hands.

Frédérique snickered as her sister and her cousin groaned, but she exchanged a conspiratorial wink with Marguerite. "So, paper wins once again!"

Marguerite gave her a look. "I never should've asked Aunt Hermione about this Muggle game."

"Oh, hush up!" The older girl turned to Ulric. "So, Ric… Since you lost, you have to answer one question, and truthfully."

He eyed her warily. "That sounds a lot like Truth or Dare…"

"Anyway, whom do you fancy?"

Ulric turned bright red but squeaked, "S-Sara…"

The two sisters exchanged a knowing look. They'd figured he liked their second cousin, and they were glad to know for sure. At least with his being adopted, there wouldn't be any spectacle as there'd been with their parents.

*93—Garden*

Frankie didn't understand everything about his father. Of course, he didn't understand everything about his mother either. Why she had wanted to drop him off to visit with his dad, he hadn't a clue. He loved both his parents equally, but he thought it unfair that Ernie was going to take his mum out to one of those Muggle movies. Frankie was a teen, too—surely he could've seen it with them?

Besides, Victoire was here. While she definitely was his dad's girlfriend, he couldn't see her as anything but a family friend. After all, she had graduated Hogwarts a little while before he'd started.

Then there was their house. It was big—almost too big for Frankie's tastes. He preferred the cramped but cozy feel of the Leaky Cauldron. "Why do you like it here so much?" he asked his dad.

"I have a garden here," his dad replied.

Frankie grinned. He understood his father at least that much.

*94—Desk*

It was made from oak. It was almost perfectly symmetrical, with the same number of drawers on either side. The handles were made from brass and were sturdy. The drawers never got stuck, and the corners of the top were rounded so that it never hurt too much to bump into them.

Victoire loved it. The drawers held the necessary art supplies for when she wanted to sit down and do a proper sketch of the design she'd just created. Many a new fashion sold in Malkin's were created at that desk.

Neville loved it. The wide space made grading homework a breeze, because he could make piles to his heart's content and always stay organized. The desk was a charm that made him efficient.

Naturally, the desk had to stay in the living room, where it was hard for the other to hog it, the silly children they could be.

*95—Dark*

"Hey…have you got the sniffles, luv?"

"Ugh, I think so… This stinks. I never get sick, Neville. I might even have to call off from work…"

"Hmm… Well, Malkin's still got her wits about her. I'm sure she can handle one day without you."

"But, Neville, what if it's more than one day?"

"You'll be fine! I'll make sure of it. What, do you think you caught something at work, Vic?"

"Dunno… Maybe? But I was only working with this new silk—spun from fairy silk. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen! I should show it to you next time."

"Well, you're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, so—oh, hold on. Can't kiss you. You look to have dragon pox, judging by those marks. I'll go see about making some medicine for you, all right?"

*96—Year*

One year was all she needed to know that she fancied him.

She struggled in Herbology, but he wasn't going to let her fail. Neville wanted to see all of his students succeed to at least some degree.

She liked catching sight of him chatting with Finch–Fletchley, Creevey, and Zabini. He seemed to get along with them well, and she wished she could make him laugh as his friends did.

She only went to Hogsmeade that year when Neville chaperoned. It gave her the excuse to bump into him and casually ask to grab a butterbeer—only in the professional sense, of course.

She liked that he treated her like anyone else when she and Maria got into trouble, because he always sighed and gave her a grin after reprimanding them.

By the end of fifth year, Victoire knew she needed to try dating Teddy, because her crush on Neville was getting out of hand.

*97—Hour*

"Bill! Pleez, we are already late!"

"I'm coming!" he shouted from upstairs.

Fleur raised an eyebrow and exchanged a disgruntled look with Dominique. Lysander stood off to the side, trying not to have an opinion. "You two should probably 'ead over zere. We will 'urry along once your fozzer eez done beautifying 'imself."

Dominique checked her watch. "Well, we wanted to be half an hour early, but now we're half an hour late. As long as we show up for Frédérique's first birthday, I don't really think Vic will mind," she added with a sigh.

Fleur groaned.

Just then, Bill rushed down the stairs, looking at last ready for the party. He pointed to his ear, where a dragon-claw earring (thank you so much, Charlie) hung. "Well, what do you think?"

This time, they all groaned.

*98—Minute*

His hand trembled something badly. It was a miracle that her hand didn't bounce out of his shaking one.

Victoire gazed up at Neville. Revered Rowena, he was tall. He was almost as tall as her father and Uncle Charlie. Actually, if Neville were as tall as Uncle Charlie, then that made Victoire almost as short as Aunt Miraphina by comparison, and Victoire almost wanted to laugh. But she didn't.

Neville wasn't just handsome, she realized. He was beautiful. She wondered if he knew that. His fringe somewhat hid his eyes, which were dark and glittering—and on her.

Ah, right, they were on her.

His lips turned upward awkwardly, and it was an adorable movement. She wanted to protect that smile…so she kissed it into permanence.

Funny how, after a minute of preparation, their first kiss lasted just as long.

*99—Second*

"The funniest thought just occurred to me," Victoire said as she sat beside her husband on the couch.

"What?" Neville asked, distracted because they were supervising Frédérique playing with toddlers Marguerite and Valerian, Roxanne and Lorcan's son.

"What if we had been born Muggles?"

That got his attention. He turned and looked at her. "What? What do you mean?"

She shrugged. "I mean, do you think things would've turned out the same? You, me, our family…"

"Even if they hadn't, I would've made sure to find you and make my life with you." He blushed at his announcement.

Victoire laughed cheerfully. "I thought the same thing right away, too!" She pecked his cheek. "Nice to know we'd make each other our soulmate."

*100—Go*

He…

…should've…

…realized.

The flu and colds hadn't come and gone several times. It had all been the one illness.

He…

…couldn't…

…think.

They were old. That was why he hadn't seen it sooner. It hadn't been dragon pox. It had been fairy pox, and she'd gotten it from that bloody silk. But fairy pox was new. No one knew how to treat or cure it yet…

So now Neville sat on the bed he once shared with Victoire, numb and unhearing and cold…

…and missing her as if missing a part of himself.

Remarks for—

Ch91: And now you know—Victoire goes first. How, will be answered in a much later drabble.

Ch95: :O Well, Vicnev's quite a bit older here, though I feel Malkin might just live forever, *lol*. (Side note: Vic comes to own the shop, so that Malkin can work part-time and take it easy, fyi.) But this is a bit of foreshadowing… You'll see why…

Ch96: :] Obvo I've mentioned Justin and Dennis before, but I'd like to think that Blaise Zabini (Ancient Runes prof in my headcanon) would befriend them even though his wife, Pansy (D.A.D.A. prof) might not, *lol*.

Ch98: -w- Charliephina is from my fic, At the Moment, for those who don't know. Miraphina is my OC. She and Charlie are married in this universe, with no kids.

Ch99: Valerian—Ian, I should say—is my OC from the fic, Week in Hell, which is complete. I like that Vic wondered about an AU here, *lol*. And Nev would make sure there'd be Vicnev no matter what! D'aww!

Ch100: ;_; Now you know why I wrote #95… Vic dies first… *sobs* It feels eerie to know that this drabble's under 100 words, too. O.o And fairy pox is of my own invention; maybe I'll write about it more in-depth sometime… Sorry for the feels, guys.

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave an anon/unsigned review via the FFN link or comment via the AO3 link at the top of the post, especially if you enjoyed this!

~mew

2017 note (regarding ch100): Still can't believe I did that. But, since 2012 (when I first began to work on this collection in a notebook), I've come to realize the importance of learning to handle killing off your favs/ships.

And if you want to support until the ride ends, please swing by its FFN and AO3 versions and consider liking and reblogging these posts on my HariPo fic tumblr!

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camelliacats · 4 years

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until the ride ends & even after that (parts 71-80/200)

Drabbles spanning the lives and love of Victoire Weasley and Neville Longbottom.

Chapters 71-80: [FFN] [AO3] | ← → | start from the beginning

Pairings/Characters: Victoire Weasley/Neville Longbottom, Justin Finch–Fletchley, Augusta Longbottom, & OCs

Rating: K+

Words: ~1,620 collectively

Additional info: romance, cross gen, family, angst, fluff, Maydayverse, Next Gen era, 3rd person POV

*71—Book*

She grunted as she piled the books into her arms. Why was it that so many huge books were needed for a simple sixteen-inch essay on the recent developments in Transfiguration, since the 1950s to today?

Frédérique checked the titles she'd plucked from the shelves—heaven help the student who left a book out of place, since it seemed unlikely that Pince would disappear anytime soon and be unable to chastise said student. Luckily, the young witch had what she needed, and she headed for the table at which sat her cousin, Sara. Though Sara was a third year and Frédérique a first and they were in different Houses, the two were close. Frédérique liked to think of Sara as her best mate, but—if anything—Sara was a great study partner and tutor.

But they could only study if Frédérique made it back to the table in one piece, and she feared being buried alive as she wobbled and spilled backwards. But someone caught her, and Frédérique looked up sheepishly. She grinned as her books magically were moved to her and Sara's study table. "Heh… Thanks, Dad," she said to that Herbology professor.

*72—Shoulder*

"Hey, hey—do you miss her?"

Neville bit his tongue and rolled his eyes. Why did Justin have to ask him these things while McGonagall gave the Start of Term Feast speech?

Justin was doggedly curious tonight, though. "Seriously, mate."

The Herbology professor quickly glanced sideways at his friend. "That's a stupid question. Of course I do. I've been with her for months. Now I'm here and she's…there."

"It's only Tinworth," Justin remarked. He paused long enough for McGonagall to finish and for the students' ruckus to get loud. Then he resumed their conversation…or he at least tried. Neville seemed intent on ignoring him if he kept bringing up Victoire. Few knew, and Justin had found out by accident. Of course, it weren't as though Justin himself would become involved with a student—never! So he sort of wondered what Neville was thinking. However, no matter how hard he bumped Neville's shoulder, Victoire as a topic was done for the evening.

*73—Boy*

Victoire cocked her head to one side, inadvertently leaning against Neville's shoulder as they rested on the couch. "What if it's a boy?"

He didn't even look up from the paper. "You know, I don't mind if it's just a healthy baby."

She rolled her eyes. "You would say that."

He snickered.

"But being serious…what if it's a boy?"

Neville put the paper aside and slid a look her way, one brow raised. "All right. Truth be told, I'd love it if our first baby were a girl. Heck, I'd love to have all daughters, if we have more."

Victoire smirked. "You could deal with all those hormones?" He nodded, and her expression softened into a smile. "You could deal with them not carrying on the Longbottom name?"

He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pressed a kiss to her temple. "I'm fine with letting Frankie do so, luv."

*74—Glass*

There were a lot of delicate situations. Though, perhaps, none had ever been as delicate.

Victoire sat, not too rigidly, by the tree, sipping her pumpkin cider to keep her mouth shut.

Neville sat to her right, in the chair adjacent to hers. He tried to ignore the situation by playing with the tinsel that had fallen on the floor. He wouldn't've felt so awkward if Trevor had still been alive to play with Neville and the tinsel.

Augusta sat on the couch in front of them, a coffee table laden with sweets platters being the only barrier. Her legs were crossed, and her cheek rested in one palm as she leaned on her arm and scrutinized Victoire.

Neville really wished Trevor were still around. It was hard, glancing at Victoire right now. It hadn't been that long ago when Victoire had left her family home. This was supposed to be her first Christmas with Neville, but Augusta had insisted he bring his new flame along.

And now he knew just how glass-like Victoire could be.

*75—Smell*

It was as though he wore Amortentia. Victoire could smell a mix of things on him—fresh soil, blooming flowers, baby powder, and fresh laundry—

She blinked. Wait. She was in Potions, wasn't she? Maybe someone really was brewing the love potion…

The witch looked around her. Good. Slughorn hadn't noticed that she'd nodded off, and the Slytherin boy who was her partner was too focused on taking notes to pay her any attention.

Still, Victoire groaned. If she had imagined smelling those things, then it made sense. Even the laundry, because he was always pristine before he went down to the greenhouses. But why had she smelled baby powder? Did he use it himself or—

She blushed and wished to have a potion to hide behind. She knew she had to be really in love with him to think she could one day make a family with him…!

*76—Up*

She laughed and laughed and laughed. And Neville's heart soared.

They were on one of their very first dates, and he'd told her a story of him, Seamus, Dean, and her uncles in the dorm.

Godric, she was beautiful when she smiled. When she found something genuinely funny, she wasn't quick to laugh. A smirk appeared and melted into a grin that reached her eyes. The blue of her eyes grew more intense, and her cheeks began to flood with the pink color of the rosehip tea she loved to drink. Her lips parted slightly at first and then quickly opened all the way. Her eyes would squint but never close, and her brow furrowed in this incredulous manner. She was so beautiful when she truly was amused.

Neville quickly followed up with stories of his Mimbulus Mimbletonia to keep her in high spirits, because when her mood lightened up, so did his.

*77—Down*

She didn't blame him. It wasn't really his fault. He was a naturally happy person. With her, it took a lot of effort to be happy.

It weren't as though she were sad all the time or found everything around her saddening or angering. The opposite of "happy" wasn't "sad" or "angry" anyway—it simply was "not happy." And Victoire simply felt "not happy."

Nothing could make her stop feeling so down. She didn't want flowers. She didn't want Neville to cook for her or to bring her a meal in bed. She didn't want to go out, nor did she want to stay in. She didn't want to dress, but she couldn't stand to be in her nightgown for another second.

She didn't want to be awake or to go to sleep either. However, sleeping was the best option, for, by the next morning, her hormones had balanced and Victoire was once more in love with life.

*78—Story*

Dear Victoire,

Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, there was a family. The parents worked for a living, and their two daughters, mischievous as they were, were hard workers themselves at school. The family loved spending time together when they could, so summers were the best thing in their opinion. The girls loved swimming with their father, the mother loved reading in the sunlight, and the daughters loved waiting for the meal at the end of each night, because it was the biggest meal of the day. Sometimes there was cold soup made with fruit and served with three kinds of bread. At other times, there were grilled meats with fresh, crunchy crisps. No matter what, though, dessert was the best part of each and every meeting, for there was something new each night…

…and I know you were the one eyeing that last piece of strawberry pie before it "disappeared."

Love, Neville

*79—Example*

Dear Neville,

There seems to be a lack of communication with us lately. It has come to my attention that we have some issues to clear up…so allow me.

Evidence 1: I am the one who comes up with every "delicious summer meal," and I am the one who slaves over the stove to feed us.

Evidence 2: I earned a N.E.W.T. in both McGonagall's Transfiguration and Flitwick's Charms—I'm almost Aunt Hermione-clever.

Evidence 3: I am your wife, and wives don't like being accused of anything by their husbands. Remember where you get your loving from next time.

Lastly—didn't you see Frédérique with red-stained fingertips before bed that night? Question the girls first next time.

Love, Victoire

*80—Purpled*

Not my fault, not my fault, not my fault.

Those thoughts ran through her mind as the two of them stood frozen in his—no, it was theirs now—living room. He was looking away, towards the mantle above the fireplace. Though she concentrated on the sixth button on his shirt, she could sense that he had his jaw clenched.

Not my fault, not my fault, not my fault.

"It's a little too bright in here," he said all of a sudden, the sound of his voice scaring her so much since it had been so quiet. He moved and dimmed the lights with magic, and then it was hard to see anything. But she could sense him forcing a grin. "Vic… Hey, Vic, look at me. See? I'm fine."

She dared to look at Neville, but she wanted to cry. She hadn't known one could slap someone so hard enough to leave a mark. The witch threw her arms around him and sobbed, because, even if he had been the one to insist that she go back home and fix things with her parents nearly as soon as she'd arrived on his step, all she could think was my fault, my fault and that she'd never hit him again.

Remarks for—

Ch71: Neville, the doting daddy.

Ch72: Obviously pre-Jamestin.

Ch77: I know I mention hormones in the end, but the funk Victoire felt here is a general funk that everyone can feel sometimes, not just ladies once a month. :/ But most people pull out of this funk just fine. :)

Ch79: In response to drabble #78. Can't blame her for setting him straight!

Ch80: :O Sad…but she would never intentionally hurt him. This happened only because the tension was running high after she ran away from home… She never did hit him again, especially not after he displayed this "guys are supposed to be sturdy" attitude. *asdfghjkl* Can I marry him now?

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave an anon/unsigned review via the FFN link or comment via the AO3 link at the top of the post, especially if you enjoyed this!

~mew

And if you want to support until the ride ends, please swing by its FFN and AO3 versions and consider liking and reblogging these posts on my HariPo fic tumblr!

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camelliacats · 4 years

Text

until the ride ends & even after that (parts 61-70/200)

Drabbles spanning the lives and love of Victoire Weasley and Neville Longbottom.

Chapters 61-70: [FFN] [AO3] | ← → | start from the beginning

Pairings/Characters: Victoire Weasley/Neville Longbottom, Bill Weasley, Fleur Delacour–Weasley, Dominique Weasley, Audrey Weasley/Percy Weasley, & OCs

Rating: K+

Words: ~1,420 collectively

Additional info: romance, cross gen, family, angst, fluff, Maydayverse, Next Gen era, 3rd person POV

*61—Bank*

"Hello, Neville," Bill said as he caught up with the other man.

Neville nodded his head and said, "Hi, Bill."

Those were the only words they exchanged as they walked up to Gringotts, Bill for work and Neville for a transaction.

Bill couldn't help but be a little curious about Neville's visit. It wasn't as though Neville stopped by all the time.

Neville didn't appreciate an audience as he walked the long entrance hall down to the head goblin. It was just his luck to have bumped into Bill this morning.

After the goblin appraised his vault key, Neville turned—and, yes, Bill was still there. Bill gave him a little wave, but his grin was too wolfish to settle Neville's nerves.

And Bill? Oh, no matter how many years and decades would pass, he would always love unsettling the man who loved his eldest daughter.

*62—Blanket*

Fleur chuckled as Victoire dove under the covers with her. "Really, Victoire…! Your fozzer will be in soon to sleep."

The little girl snuggled her mother. "Yes, but, in the meantime, we can continue our forte!" Victoire stood on the bed and threw the blanket over her and Fleur's heads. "There!"

"All right, all right…are you a princess again?"

"Of course. Will you be the dragon again?"

Fleur sighed, exasperated. "At least Teddy eez not 'ere to slay me once more…"

Victoire pulled a face. "Who said anything about Teddy?"

"Oh? Teddy eez not your, ah, dashing prince?"

"No… My prince will be someone tall, dark, and handsome."

Fleur sighed again. She wondered if Victoire's response had anything to do with Neville babysitting yesterday….

*63—Warm*

Frédérique had just excused herself to use the loo. That didn't exactly help the already charged atmosphere.

"So, Colin," Neville said.

"Please, sir, just call me 'Junior' as usual," Colin stated. Even in a tense situation, he still preferred his nickname since most of the adults he knew had been friends of his late uncle.

"Junior," the father amended. "That was a nice dinner we had, wasn't it?"

Colin turned to Victoire nervously. "Delicious, truly delicious, Mrs. Longbottom."

Victoire smiled her thanks and poked her husband. "Do stop scaring him, Neville."

"I'm not scared, I swear!" the young wizard said as he hopped to his feet. But, in doing so, a little velvet box fell from his jumper's pocket. He blushed, and the room suddenly felt a whole lot warmer than it had before, no doubt about it.

*64—Hidden*

"That's the last time I loan her extra parchment for homework," Dominique groused as she sneaked into her sister's room. Good thing Victoire was downstairs with Teddy, Molly, and James, trying to play yuletide pranks on their younger siblings and cousins.

The blond witch found her parchment crumpled in the middle drawer of Victoire's dresser. It was half used, full of outfit designs and other such ideas; so Victoire really did want to work with Madam Malkin after Hogwarts.

Dominique went to tear off the blank bits to doodle on when she discovered some scrawls in the corner on the bottom left side. Great. More of the parchment she…couldn't use… Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head.

Was that really "Victoire Longbottom" written within a red heart?!

Dominique stuffed the evidence back in the drawer, and she did her best to lock up the memory of seeing it in the back of her mind.

*65—Family*

Ulric picked up the new photo off his parents' mantle—ah, it seemed so strange to think that he had parents again—and admired the characters looking back at him.

There was Aunt Victoire and Uncle Neville with their daughters—Ulric's cousins—Frédérique and Marguerite. Behind them stood Grandpa Bill.

At the other end was Uncle Louis, who had dragged his longtime best mate into the picture, too. Though he was actually a distant cousin, Uncle Hugo just felt like another uncle, and he seemed…right standing next to Uncle Louis, Uncle Louis' arm around Uncle Hugo's shoulders. Behind them stood Grandma Fleur.

Then, in the middle, there was Dominique and Lysander. But Ulric would never call them that. For two years now, they had been "Mum" and "Dad" to him, and Ulric had never been happier.

Sure, maybe the family looked a little unconventional, but it was a family. His family.

*66—Bag*

"I've definitely got this one in the bag," Victoire whispered to Maria.

Maria raised an eyebrow. "I'll see it when I believe it." She paused. "Er… I mean, believe it when I see it. Well, you know what I mean! Now go!" She gave the other eagle a little push.

Victoire waved from atop the stairs. "Ah, Professor Longbottom! Are you going to Hogsmeade, too—ACK!" Apparently, Maria had shoved her a little too hard, because Victoire stumbled to the first step and slid, skidding down the rest of the stairs on her bum.

Neville walked by as though nothing had happened. Apparently, he hadn't heard her.

Victoire cursed in French as Maria guffawed above her. "Thanks a lot!" she shouted up to the dark-haired witch. "Please, don't mind me—I like it here on the floor!" Maria doubled over with laughter, but she didn't fall, nor did she have the ability to help up Victoire. Apparently, slapstick humor could trump friendship. Sometimes.

*67—Bright*

He found her in the snow. "Vic, honestly… What are you doing out here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" She fought a shiver. "I'm enjoying the nice weather."

Neville rolled his eyes; it was too hard to look down at her with the pure white snow all around her—especially in the daylight. "Vic. C'mon. You're barely dressed to…'enjoy' the nice weather."

"Then join me and warm me up."

He sighed. "I'm sorry for what I said earlier."

"I'm not chastising you. All I asked was that you join me here in the snow in our front yard."

Neville complied, though initially the cold was bloody impossible to bear. After a few minutes of silence, he turned his head to her. "Luv…I am sorry."

She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. "I know. Just…don't say that you're not bright enough to be with me, okay? You're brighter and braver than you'll ever know."

*68—Seemingly*

It was Christmas, and everything was supposed to be great and perfect and happy. But, of course, it wasn't.

No, instead, a ruckus had erupted as soon as Al had let it slip that James was involved with a man…and a very much older man, at that. And now, because of that, Percy stood to the side with Audrey, Victoire fuming to the both of them.

"…can't believe Lily and Al and Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry," she remarked. She furrowed her brow. "And no one's spoken to him since, it seems."

"It really is awful," Audrey agreed.

Victoire's eyes lit up. "We should go see him. I'll get Neville."

"What? Why? Percy asked.

Victoire fixed him with a stern look. "Because we love James, and we know how it feels, to be apart from the family…to be on the outside." She didn't leave room for an argument.

*69—Complete*

So…here it was. The moment.

The moment.

Everything was going to change in a matter of minutes…or was it seconds? And that was another thing—would things change? Things had been so…cozy the last several years. But would anything really change?

Neville wished he had had these same thoughts before, about Hannah. Maybe then, things would've been different. Frankie might've been born sooner. They might've stayed together. Ernie wouldn't have returned and grown even closer to Hannah, further ensuring Hannah staying with Neville. But…things had changed. Neville had split from Hannah. Neville had found Victoire. Neville had Victoire.

Change wasn't so bad, after all. And Neville held on to the giddy feeling that thought gave him as he held Victoire's hands in his, tuned out the wizard officiating, and said, "I do."

*70—Silence*

Deafening.

Absent.

Vacant.

Quiet.

When Victoire tried to enter their bedroom, Neville turned her away. He loved her, he did, but he needed to mourn. He needed time. He needed peace.

But he didn't want quiet. Anything but the quiet.

Everyone kept saying the same things, that it was bound to happen. She was old. At least he still had his parents.

The last remark got to him, because no one understood. Yes, his parents were still alive (for how much longer, he daren't think), but they were insane…mentally and socially dead. Augusta had been the last of his family, truly…but now his grandmother was gone.

Remarks for—

Ch65: 8D YAY! Ulric makes his first appearance! And only 10 drabbles earlier, I made you all think that Domsander would never have a kid…well, now you know! ;)

Ch66: Ever had that happen to you? XP

Ch68: Ah, yes… I loved writing this, because it's the other side of a major scene from "Heroic Tendencies.":]

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave an anon/unsigned review via the FFN link or comment via the AO3 link at the top of the post, especially if you enjoyed this!

~mew

2017 note (regarding ch68): I will forever love Percy Weasley, and he rly is an impt figure for the likes of Victoire and James in their loves. Audrey's a pip, too. :3

And if you want to support until the ride ends, please swing by its FFN and AO3 versions and consider liking and reblogging these posts on my HariPo fic tumblr!

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camelliacats · 4 years

Text

until the ride ends & even after that (parts 31-40/200)

Drabbles spanning the lives and love of Victoire Weasley and Neville Longbottom.

Chapters 31-40: [FFN] [AO3] | ← → | start from the beginning

Pairings/Characters: Victoire Weasley/Neville Longbottom, Hannah Abbott, Dominique Weasley, Fleur Delacour–Weasley/Bill Weasley, & OCs

Rating: K+

Words: ~1,700 collectively

Additional info: romance, cross gen, family, angst, fluff, Maydayverse, Next Gen era, 3rd person POV

*31—Exam*

Victoire bundled up as the Healer told her that she was in perfect health. Despite having a miscarriage more than two years ago, there was no reason why Victoire couldn't have kids.

Neville pecked the top of her head and reassured her that they'd be fine. She was only twenty-five, not yet twenty-six, and they were still enjoying a long, quiet engagement they had yet to disclose to their loved ones; they'd have plenty of time to make a family of their own.

Regardless, her heart sank, and she bit her lip. She always thought she'd be the first to marry—but that had been James. She always thought she would've been the first to give birth—but Molly had had a beautiful baby daughter with Michael a year ago, and Sara Alexandra Corner was Grandmam Weasley's delight. Victoire knew it was stupid to be jealous of her cousins, but she was jealous nevertheless.

As her heart sank further, it broke. She turned her face to Neville's chest and sobbed, her makeup ruining his cloak. And, though he hushed her and patted her back, his chin rested on her head. She could feel his own tears hit her hair….

*32—Mumble*

"I…" Her words faded into the deafening silence of his office.

Neville turned white. What had she said? He wasn't too much of an idiot; he knew he got along well with Victoire. But she was a seventh-year student, freshly eighteen, and without plans for the future. Oh, Merlin, had he led her on? Stupid, stupid, stupid!

"I love you." She froze. "I really like you," she mumbled, as if the lighter words wouldn't seem as intimidating.

He gaped at her. So. She really did fancy a professor. But what about Teddy Lupin? He thought they'd been so close…couldn't she fancy him instead? In fact, Neville could recall them having dated briefly last year. No, wait, they'd broken up. Or had they? But, either way, how could she have had the time to fancy Neville? Besides, Teddy and Victoire had had everything going for them. Neville would ruin her, that was for sure. … Er, if he ever returned her feelings, which of course he couldn't…right?

But she didn't give him the chance to turn her down, because she ran, thinking his silence was his answer.

*33—Dragons*

"Hell no!"

Frédérique glared at her mother. "I'm not asking for permission. I'm telling you what I plan to do for a living. And I'm going to go work with Uncle Charlie, Aunt Mira, and Cousin Lily. And that's final."

"What about Colin? You're always telling us how much you love him." But, even as Victoire said it, she and Neville knew they were grasping at straws. Dennis would never let his son anywhere near danger, even if Colin had been with Frédérique since fourth year.

"Then maybe I won't be the next Mrs. Creevey." She frowned. "But let me do what I love. I know Margot's the golden child; I know she loves Herbology. But we're two different people, Mum, Dad. And I happen to prefer dragons to plants." It was quite obvious she knew she was breaking Neville's heart, because she didn't appear to like what she was saying—but that didn't mean that she was going to change her mind.

"…fine," Victoire said at last, because she remembered once being a girl who had challenged her mother. The difference was that she and Fleur hadn't spoken for two years for it.

*34—Dawn*

They were in Victoire's four-poster, staring at the ceiling and waiting for the sun to come up.

"Really, really?" Maria Ferraz, Victoire's best mate since second year, whispered.

Victoire was glad for the dark, for her cheeks were cherry red. "Yeah. I think Professor Longbottom's cute."

"Are you sure you're not just now attracted because he's suddenly divorced?"

"Says the fifth year who said the other day that Professor Dennis Creevey has always been single."

The half-Portuguese witch grinned—Victoire could sense it. "So? Maybe I just like Art and Muggle Art and Muggle Music."

The two eagles giggled, giggling harder as they tried to hush so as not to wake their roommates. They wouldn't have to stay quiet for long. Another day was on the way…and, with it, the girls' favorite "subjects."

*35—Ex*

He swallowed the lump in his throat. He couldn't stand on the sidewalk for the whole day. …or maybe he could.

When Neville entered the Leaky Cauldron, he didn't feel Hannah's eyes on him. Maybe that was a good thing. According to Justin, Hannah and Ernie had only ever been closer after her divorce from Neville. Still…she knew about him and Victoire.

He marched to the back door and slipped outside. There stood the ever-familiar entrance to Diagon Alley, a place with his favorite apothecary and potion ingredients (because one place sold seeds while the other sold mulch) were. He made his purchases and took his time…but time passed quickly, and he found himself back at the back door to the pub. Well, if he could make it out, he definitely could make it in, right?

This time he knew she saw him; he didn't have to look to know it. She even said hi! And what did Neville do? He dumbly nodded and ran out without muttering a single word. Some Gryffindor he was!

*36—Pink*

"Pinky promise?"

Victoire groaned. "Maria, there's no magic or potion I can use to make sure I'll have a girl."

Maria pouted. "Oh, come on! In five months, I'm going to have a boy. It would be nice if, in seven, you had a girl! That way, we can definitely set our kids up. And we can be in-laws!"

Though she loved her friend's idea, Victoire was skeptical. She had a wedding to finish planning, and she had many months to clear before she could feel that the baby would be okay. "What if I have a boy?" she threw out there.

"Well, duh, that's obvious. We'll still hook them up!"

Victoire held her head, shaking with laughter at Maria's seriousness.

(Of course, Maria got her way, for weeks later Victoire began shopping for pink baby things.)

*37—And*

"And…I'm jealous of how you never have to style your hair because it always bounces right into place. And I'm so amazed when you walk by and enthrall people—I know the Veela in us doesn't work, but it's as if it doesn't matter with you because you have such presence. And I envy your friendship, because I don't think you'd ever betray Maria, and she wouldn't do that to you. And I like that you're not a total know-it-all for being a Ravenclaw; you've too much common sense to be just a bookish chit."

Victoire was amused by her sister's words. "Jeez, Dominique. Anything else you want to confess?"

"And…you're my role model, sis. I love you."

Dominique hugged her as she said, "Oh, Dom… I love you, too…but I'm no role model."

Dominique only agreed when Victoire left her behind at home three years later, when she put Hogwarts—and her family—behind her.

*38—Line*

He slept so quietly.

She sat on the edge of the bed, listening to that sound while her mind raced. Had this been worth it, coming here? It was her first time at his home. It was her first time with him. It was the first time she'd lied to her parents and told them that she was sleeping over at a friend's house. But which one of them had crossed the line? Him, for giving in to her? Her, for making him succumb? And why had she wanted him to succumb so badly? Was it for the same reason she had barged into his office almost a year ago now?

But she'd done that because he was different from her other friends, the other professors, the other adults she knew. Often he had a slightly dumbfounded expression on his face, but that hid a subtle intellect. He was kind but just, and long gone were the days when he let anyone walk all over him. He also was so hesitant to lend a comforting arm, but she knew he was compassionate. Neville was a much better, more special man than for whom anyone gave him credit.

And, hell, did Victoire love him too much for it.

*39—Restlessness*

"I do not like zis, Bill." Fleur cursed in French as she burned herself taking a muffin pan out of the oven.

Bill reached for her hand and kissed it. "I know, luv. It's been two weeks. We can't get used to something like this so quickly." He grimaced as tears welled in her eyes.

"She eez nevair going to talk to me again!" she breathed, holding back her tears. "But I worry! She eez my daughter! My baby girl! Our baby girl!"

Bill cooed to her softly in French and kissed her forehead. "And she won't stop being our daughter, Fleur. Even if she thinks she's now grown and wants to be with—"

"Pleez, do not say 'is name."

"All right…then please don't burn the house down cooking."

Fleur sighed. "I am sorry… I just do not want 'er to theenk zat I do not love 'er anymore… I do not want to be cut off from 'er." She wrapped the warm muffins and put them in a bag—and then she called Dominique downstairs.

*40—Brother*

On his way out of the classroom from visiting his father, Frankie heard an interesting exchange as he passed by Frédérique and her friends.

"Oh, my Merlin—Fréd! Who's the cutie that talked to your dad?" a girl in red robes asked.

"Eh? You mean Frankie? That's my brother."

"But he's so much older than you," another girl said. "And I thought you were the oldest."

Frédérique shrugged. "We've got different mums. Dad met his mum a long time ago, whereas my parents came later, along with me and then Margot."

"So that means he's not your real brother. He's just your half-brother."

"What different does that make? A brother's a brother, and I love him all the same."

Frankie was grinning from ear to ear as he left to catch lunch with Jacqueline.

Remarks for—

Ch31: My only comment goes to xakemii: Because "Alexandra Sara Corner" doesn't have the same ring to it as "Sara Alexandra Corner" does, Kimmy. ;)

Ch34: And, finally, after 2 yrs stored in my brain, my OC Maria appears!

Ch36: This drabble came about more than anything from my talks with two of my closest friends, *lol*.

Ch39: This ties in to drabble #3, "Runaway." ;) If you recall it.

Ch40: I've been wanting to write this one for a while! :D I love Frankie, I do. Good big brother material (and good with Jacqueline, too). ;) But I also hate when people try to distinguish lines when it comes to step-siblings or half-siblings…family's family, people.

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave an anon/unsigned review via the FFN link or comment via the AO3 link at the top of the post, especially if you enjoyed this!

~mew

2017 note (regarding ch31): Ah, yes. Something mentioned in the 6th Jamestin fic, "Trial By Fire," and something else discovered in the Mollychael fic which I wrote after this collection, "Slip & Fall."

(regarding ch40): This drabble just reminds me how much I want to draw the Vicnev family.

And if you want to support until the ride ends, please swing by its FFN and AO3 versions and consider liking and reblogging these posts on my HariPo fic tumblr!

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